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Morocco sweep past Canada to reach World Cup quarter-finals
Morocco booked their place in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals with a clinical 3-0 victory over co-hosts Canada in Houston.
A second-half brace from Azzedine Ounahi, followed by Soufiane Rahimi's stoppage-time strike, secured another memorable knockout victory for the Atlas Lions, who will now face either France or Paraguay for a place in the semi-finals.
Canada, playing in the biggest match in the nation's football history after reaching the knockout rounds for the first time, made the brighter start and tested Yassine Bounou early through Tani Oluwaseyi, while Alistair Johnston also headed over from a promising position.
Morocco struggled to find their rhythm during a scrappy first half dominated by fouls and yellow cards, and Mohamed Ouahbi's side were dealt a setback when Ismael Saibari was forced off through injury midway through the opening period.
The contest burst into life after the restart.
Five minutes into the second half, Achraf Hakimi's well-worked free-kick found Ounahi on the edge of the area, and the midfielder swept a first-time finish beyond Maxime Crepeau to break the deadlock.
Canada pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but Morocco remained composed defensively before striking again on the counter. Ounahi was once more perfectly placed to apply the finish after a swift break and double the Atlas Lions' advantage.
Rahimi completed the scoring with virtually the final kick of the match, sliding home to cap an accomplished Moroccan performance and send the travelling supporters into celebration.
The victory sees Morocco continue another impressive World Cup run after their historic semi-final appearance in Qatar four years ago, while Canada's memorable campaign comes to an end following the nation's first-ever appearance in the knockout rounds.
































