HOUSTON (AP) — Morocco is heading to the world again world cup In the quarter-finals, coach Mohamed Ouabi believes his team has established itself as one of the elite in the world of football.
Azzedine Unahi scored twice to lead Morocco to a 3-0 victory over Canada in the Round of 16 on Saturday, making the country the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals more than once.
“We are no longer surprised,” Ouabi said through an interpreter. “Now when people talk about Morocco, we are the leading contenders and that is a source of great pride. I think this is just the beginning, and I hope we continue on a run like this.”
And despite already making history at this World Cup, Morocco have much higher goals.
“We want to keep moving forward,” Ouabi said. “We don’t want to stop.”
This is the second consecutive year Morocco has advanced to the top eight, having become the first African team to advance to the semifinals in 2022.
“I’m very proud to represent Africa, because Africa is a continent with a lot of talent and Africa deserves the highest level of football,” said goalkeeper Yassin Bounou.
Neither team was able to break through, but Unahi took Achraf Hakimi’s free kick and fired a right-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner to give Morocco a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute.
Unahi made it 2-0 in the 82nd minute with a right-footed shot from the center of the box following a pass from Brahim Diaz.
Sufjan Rahimi added another goal just before stoppage time.
Morocco will play against France Who won against Paraguay? Later Saturday, Thursday in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
This loss marked the end of a historic run for World Cup co-host Canada, who had won the final tournament for the first time in history. 1-0 victory over South Africa For Saturday’s game. This was the country’s third appearance at the World Cup, but the run captivated a country normally far more interested in hockey than the pitch.
Canadian coach Jesse Marsh had a message to his team after the game.
“I told them I was proud of them and made them understand that they can always play like this against the best teams in the world,” he said. “The day could be better, and the challenge is whether we can maintain that standard for 90 minutes.”
Morocco enters this tournament in 7th place in the FIFA rankings. sent the Netherlands in a penalty shootout The goal is to advance to the Round of 16 and be the quickest to eliminate the country from the World Cup.
Coach Marsh praised how his team performed against a talented Moroccan team and how Canada was in control for most of the day.
“The way we pushed, the way we played the game, the quality we showed, the impact we had on the game as a whole, we were better,” he said. “We were better than the seventh-ranked team in the world today.”
When informed about these comments, Ouabi had a strong reaction.
“In terms of intensity, they were good,” he said. “They were good for 98 minutes. Were they better? It’s hard to say. It’s a little nerve-wracking to say that when you’re down 3-0.”
Canada had several chances to score late. In the 78th minute, Jonathan David received a free kick from outside the box, but his shot went over the crossbar.
Moments later, Tajon Buchanan’s shot from about 30 yards was stopped by a diving save by Bounow. Bounou, who was born in Canada to Moroccan parents, made three saves.
The victory prompted a huge celebration from Moroccan fans back home.
Within minutes, thousands of people poured onto the streets of Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city. Horns rang out as supporters climbed onto the roofs of cars, waving flags and chanting chants.
Traffic came to a standstill along Corniche Boulevard, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, as enthusiastic Atlas Lions supporters danced, set off fireworks and waved smoke bombs. Casablanca’s other main thoroughfares were also crowded with jubilant fans.
Canada advanced to the round of 16 despite missing star player Alphonso Davies for much of the tournament with a hamstring injury. The Bayern Munich player played just 15 minutes as a substitute in the win over South Africa, but was unavailable on Saturday.
“My hamstring wasn’t feeling great,” Marsh said. “We were hoping he would be feeling better by the time he woke up this morning, but that wasn’t the case.”
The match was a rematch of the previous World Cup, when Morocco defeated Canada 2-1 in the group stage. Morocco finished in 4th place.
It was a very physical match with eight yellow cards. Both teams received four.
Hakimi and Canada’s Richie Lallyair received yellow cards in the 40th minute. Hakimi pushed Laryea to the ground, Laryea pushed Hakimi down, and a minor scuffle ensued.
Moroccan midfielder Ismael Saibari was sent off with an injury in the 22nd minute.
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Associated Press writer Akram Obachir in Casablanca, Morocco, contributed to this report.
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