Ouahbi responds to Marsch's 'better team' comments
Mohamed Ouahbi proudly declared that Morocco can no longer be considered a surprise package after it reached the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, while questioning Jesse Marsch's claim that Canada was the "better team" in their Round of 16 tie.
Morocco was under pressure for long periods against the co-host in Houston, but a clinical display of finishing saw it pull clear in the second half.
Azzedine Ounahi scored two outstanding goals – an edge-of-the-box drive from a free-kick routine and a thunderous finish into the top-right corner – before Soufiane Rahimi capped off the 3-0 win with a late effort on the counter-attack.
The only blot on Morocco's victory was an apparent hamstring issue sustained by star striker Ismael Saibari, who hobbled off to be replaced by Rahimi in the 22nd minute.
Having reached the semi-finals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Morocco is the first African nation to reach the last eight at back-to-back editions of the tournament.
The four FIFA World Cup knockout ties it has progressed from, meanwhile, are as many as all other African teams combined, and Morocco coach Ouahbi believes the Atlas Lions are now a major force.
"We're no longer a surprise today, and that's a great source of pride," he said. "I think this is only the beginning and I hope we'll keep producing this kind of run for many years."
Much of the post-match discussion centred on comments made by Marsch, who said Canada, which was again without star man Alphonso Davies, was "the better team".
He also insisted that, "as good as Morocco are, I'd rather be us than them".
"They were good, but it takes some nerve to say that when you lose 3-0," Ouahbi replied when asked about Marsch's comments.
"There was only one save from [Yassine] Bounou. In the second half, Canada were good, but they lacked efficiency. Then we created chances through the middle.
"As I always tell the players, we are playing in the [FIFA] World Cup, so we will go through difficult moments. It is not normal to play every match comfortably.
"When we are not at our best, we must stay united. In those moments, we remember who we are playing for, and that is exactly what the players showed during the match."
Morocco will now face tournament favourite France for a semi-final spot, which was the stage at which it bowed out to France in 2022.
