Morocco is first African nation to reach World Cup quarters twice

HOUSTON — After striking first, Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi ran straight to his teammates before facing the stands. He waved his arms to pull more noise from the Atlas Lions’ faithful as Houston Stadium erupted Saturday afternoon. 

“I’m really happy to have scored today,” Ounahi said after scoring twice to help Morocco beat Canada 3-0. “It wasn’t easy for us. We saw that Canada caused us problems, especially in the first half.

“This match will help us grow. We’ve seen that no game is easy in this competition, but the most important thing is that we’re through.”

After an uneventful first half that had more yellow cards (six) than shots on goal (five), Morocco eliminated Canada, one of the three host nations for the 2026 World Cup.

African soccer history

Before a raucous sellout crowd of 68,777, Ounahi scored twice for the Atlas Lions in the second half. Then Soufiane Rahimi scored deep into stoppage time to cap the scoring.

The full‑team celebration came only after the final whistle. The Atlas Lions looked up at the stands, raised the Moroccan flag and clapped in unison as their supporters thundered through a Viking‑style “SIR!” (go!) as the chants echoed across Houston Stadium.

MORE FROM OUR ESQUINA

James Rodriguez catches World Cup fever from wife Marbella

Suite life – Benny Agosto ready for World Cup in Houston

Oranje Bus fan walk brings Houston, Netherlands together

Morocco made history by reaching the World Cup quarterfinals for the second straight tournament, becoming the first African nation to break into the last eight more than once.

“You know, sometimes it’s just like this,” Moroccan forward Brahim Diaz said. “This is football. We saw the games in the World Cup. It  was really difficult. The most important is how we keep our heads up and the mentality we have because we knew we didn’t have a good first half, and we came out to give it our all on the pitch and to give everything we had. 

“The most important thing is how we managed this situation because sometimes, you know, in football, in life, you have bad times, but it’s how you keep your head up and keep going. And I’m so proud of my team.”

Canada’s most complete World Cup performance began with a resilient Group B push, highlighted by a dominant showing against Qatar, a hard‑fought draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a setback against Switzerland.

Proud Canada

A disciplined finish carried them through, and they later edged South Africa in a gritty Round of 32 to reach the Round of 16 for the first time. Morocco closed the chapter on Saturday.

“I just hope that what they watched they can be proud of,” Canadian defender Alistair Johnston said. “That they saw a Canadian team that was not afraid of anyone. That played how I think we always want all of our Canadian teams to play, it doesn’t matter the sport.

”We wore our hearts on our sleeves. We left it all out there. We went toe-to-toe with any challenge that was thrown at us and we played with that Canadian honesty and resilience that I think really resonates with the people back home, and that’s something that I’m most proud of because being a part of this group.”