Ounahi and Rahimi Send Morocco to World Cup Quarter-Finals as Canada's Run Ends

Morocco beat Canada 3–0 to advance to the World Cup quarter-finals. Goals from Azzedine Ounahi — who scored twice — and Soufiane Rahimi sealed the win. With the victory, Morocco became the first African team ever to reach the World Cup quarter-finals two times. Canada, who started the match with great energy, could not keep up after Morocco took control.

Morocco's new head coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, celebrated loudly when Ounahi scored the first goal early in the second half. Ouahbi only took over the team five months ago, replacing Walid Regragui, who was one of the most successful coaches in Morocco's history. Regragui had led Morocco to a World Cup semi-final, losing only four of his 49 games in charge. Many people thought it would be nearly impossible for a new coach to do as well, but Ouahbi is already proving them wrong.

Ouahbi came in with a plan to play more attacking, exciting soccer. Before this tournament, Morocco even came close to beating Brazil in the group stage and nearly beat the Netherlands without needing a penalty shootout. However, against Canada, Morocco played a much more careful, defensive style. It was not always pretty, but it worked.

Canada came out fast and full of energy at the start of the match. They pressed hard and put Morocco under pressure in the first half. Morocco struggled to create chances, and they lost key player Ismael Saibari to injury just before halftime. Without Saibari, who had been one of the best players in the tournament so far, Morocco barely touched the ball in Canada's penalty area before the break.

But Morocco stayed calm and found a way to score first. Six minutes into the second half, Achraf Hakimi pulled a free kick back to Ounahi, who swept the ball into the net from just outside the box. Ounahi was lucky to still be playing — he had already been given a yellow card in the first half and had fouled a Canadian player shortly before the goal. Canada's Stephen Eustáquio complained to the referee, but no second yellow card was given.

After Morocco took the lead, Canada's momentum faded quickly. The Canadian team had put so much energy into their fast start that they had little left once Morocco slowed the game down. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a strong save with his feet to keep Morocco ahead. Ounahi then added his second goal after a quick break involving Chemsdine Talbi and Brahim Díaz. Late in injury time, Rahimi made it 3–0 after Díaz led another fast attack, capping a strong team performance.

Morocco's success shows an interesting pattern in soccer. When a new coach takes over a team, they sometimes keep the best parts of what the old coach built while adding new ideas on top. This is what Ouahbi has done — he brought in a more exciting style of play, but in tough moments, Morocco can still rely on the tough, organized defending they learned under Regragui. That mix of old and new has been a powerful combination for them in this tournament.