Co-host Canada out of its home World Cup; Morocco win 3-0 to reach the quarterfinals first

For 45 minutes Canada looked the likelier side. The co-hosts drove much of the play in front of a home-tournament crowd at Houston Stadium, but could not turn territory into a goal. Morocco also lost their most creative midfielder early: Ismael Saibari limped off in the 23rd minute with what looked like a hamstring problem, and for a while the Atlas Lions were the side hanging on.

The game turned after the break. Azzedine Ounahi opened the scoring in the 50th minute, added his second in the 82nd, and Soufiane Rahimi finished it in the eighth minute of stoppage time for 3-0. A scoreline that flattered no one at half-time ended as a comfortable win. Once Morocco led, the shape of the match settled into what they do best in knockout football: control the tempo, deny space, and punish on the break.

For Canada, it is where a home World Cup ends. Reaching the round of 16 was already the country's deepest run at the tournament, and the co-hosts had carried real momentum into the knockout rounds. But the night they most wanted to keep going was the one where the gap showed, and it closes with a three-goal defeat rather than a memory to hold on to. The home support that had followed the team since the group stage went quiet well before the final whistle.

For Morocco, it is another step on a path no African side has walked before. After reaching the semifinals in 2022 - the first African and Arab nation to get that far - they are now the first African team to make the quarterfinals in back-to-back World Cups. This run was not a fluke of the draw either: they held the Netherlands 1-1 in the round of 32 and won the shootout, and went through the group unbeaten, including a 1-1 draw with Brazil. A squad that already believed it belonged at this stage now has the results to match.

Morocco are the first team into the last eight. Multiple outlets report their quarterfinal is set for Thursday, July 9 at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, against the winner of France and Paraguay - France unbeaten through four matches, Paraguay the side that knocked out Germany on penalties after finishing third in their group. Japan's tournament ended in the round of 32 against Brazil, so for a Japanese audience the story from here is about who survives Brazil's half of the draw and whether Morocco can turn a strong run into a first-ever semifinal on this side of a World Cup.