Ounahi and Rahimi send Morocco into World Cup quarter-finals as Canada are eliminated
Quick summary
Morocco beat Canada in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16, with goals from Ounahi and Rahimi, to advance to the quarter-finals and end Canada's tournament.
Full article
Attributed to original sourceAs Azzedine Ounahi put Morocco ahead early in the second half, his coach Mohamed Ouahbi wagged a delighted finger. There was, perhaps, relief there too. In February he replaced the most successful coach in Morocco’s history, Walid Regragui, who may not have been popular by the end, but the idea that his successor might surpass his achievements seemed almost impossible. That may still be a way off but, five months on, Morocco have become the first African side to reach the World Cup quarter-finals twice – and there’s not much doubt that they’re playing better.
Criticism of Regragui at the 2025 Cup of Nations, which Morocco hosted and may have won on appeal – although we’ll have to wait for the court of arbitration for sport ruling to be sure – seemed harsh to outsiders. He had taken Morocco to a World Cup semi-final and had lost only four of his 49 games in charge – among them that semi-final against France in Qatar and the third-place playoff against Croatia. Was he really overly defensive, or was that just the way Morocco had to play?
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What happened
Morocco progressed to the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a victory over Canada in the last 16. Ounahi and Rahimi provided the goals that secured Morocco's passage. The result eliminates Canada from the tournament, bringing their World Cup campaign to an end. The win continues Morocco's strong run in the competition.
Chance analysis
Morocco's progression marks them as a serious knockout-stage contender, with Ounahi and Rahimi stepping up as decisive attacking contributors. Canada's elimination ends a tournament in which they were unable to advance past the group stage, raising questions about their competitiveness at this level. For prediction systems, Morocco's form and attacking output are now key data points going into the quarter-finals.
Morocco gain a massive confidence and momentum boost heading into the quarter-finals, while Canada are eliminated from the 2026 World Cup with no further matches in the competition.
Morocco should be treated as a strong, in-form team going into the World Cup quarter-finals, while Canada is fully eliminated and no longer relevant for further tournament modeling.