First host eliminated: Morocco thrashed Canada 3-0 and knocked them out of their World Cup

The first knockout match left the first organizer of the 2026 World Cup. In a game that went from less to more, Morocco asserted its status as a contender and defeated Canada 3-0 to advance to the quarter-finals,

The start of the match was marked by a dominance of possession by the Moroccans and by the constant attacks generated by the Canadians. Among these, the main chance would come at 10, with a shot from Tani Oluwaseyi that would make Yassine Bonnou shine.

Despite this warning from the hosts, the tone of the match would remain unchanged for the rest of the first half: the players coached by Mohamed Ouahbi, who would suffer the early injury of their scorer Ismael Saibari, managed possession without real danger up front, while Jesse Marsch's team took advantage of their opportunities to unsettle their rival, although not enough to tilt the score in their favor. The only notable addition would be the constant fouls that resulted in a stopped game and a total of 6 yellow cards before halftime (4 for Morocco and 2 for Canada).

In the second half, the Africans would finally wake up from their long slumber at 49, precisely due to a booking foul by Luc De Fougerolles on Soufiane Rahimi on the right wing. From the resulting free kick, Achraf Hakimi would execute the planned play and, instead of crossing into the area, would assist back to Azzedine Ounahi, who first-time sent the ball to the bottom right corner of the goal to make it 1-0.

From that goal, the Canadians would push their lines forward in search of the equalizer, leaving more spaces at the back and allowing their opponent to become more adventurous in attack. Because of this, the match would turn into constant back-and-forth between the areas, however, a clear chance would not arise again until 78: "The Maple Leaf" would try with a long-distance shot from Tajon Buchanan, but it would be cleared by Bonnou.

Shortly after, the response from the "Lions of the Atlas" would come. At 82, in a counterattack, the ball would reach Brahim Diaz, who would enter the area and, after a feint, would pass to Ounahi, who with a powerful shot would score his personal double and the 2-0 for his team.

The Africans did not seem satisfied with just that and, just a couple of minutes later, almost scored the third through Rahimi's head, but the crossbar would deny it.

Although the North Americans would try every possible way to achieve a comeback, even with their goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau going into the area to try his luck, they would not manage to turn it around and, to make matters worse, would lose by more, as the Moroccans would seal the deal with a final score of 3-0, credited to Rahimi.

With this result, Morocco advanced to the quarter-finals, where they will face the winner of the match between Paraguay and France, next Thursday, July 9 at 17:00 (Argentina time) at the Gillette Stadium in Boston.