Canada's World Cup run ended on Saturday after a 3-0 defeat to Morocco in Houston. Azzedine Ounahi scored twice and Soufiane Rahimi added a stoppage-time third. It was the co-hosts' first knockout appearance.
Canada's World Cup run ended on Saturday after a 3-0 defeat to Morocco in Houston. Azzedine Ounahi scored twice and Soufiane Rahimi added a stoppage-time third. It was the co-hosts' first knockout appearance.
Canada started the match in force and created the clearer first-half openings. Tani Oluwaseyi was denied by Yassine Bounou, and Alistair Johnston saw a header blocked. Morocco managed only one touch in the Canadian box before the break.
The game tilted five minutes into the second half. Achraf Hakimi's free-kick found Azzedine Ounahi, who finished from the edge of the area. Ounahi struck again on 82 minutes after Brahim Díaz set him up, and Soufiane Rahimi completed the scoring in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
Jesse Marsch insisted his side had deserved more, saying his team was better and that they totally controlled Morocco in the first half: "I'm very proud to be the Canadian national team coach, and as proud as I am, I'm even more proud of the way our boys played today," he told reporters.
Morocco's Mohamed Ouahbi rejected this verdict. "It takes some nerve to say that when you lose 3-0," he said, though he praised the "intensity" of the Canadian side and explained he had changed his approach to play balls in behind their press.
Marsch, whose contract runs to 2030, told his players to treat the tournament as a foundation. "I challenged them to understand that we can play like this all the time," he said.
Stephen Eustáquio pointed to the missed chances. "We have a very good chance in the first half," he said. "If we score that, we put the game on our terms, and we play the football that we want to play."
Canada were without Alphonso Davies, whose tournament amounted to just a quarter of an hour against South Africa. The Bayern Munich wing-back felt discomfort in training on Friday.
"He didn't feel right yesterday in training, and we got an MRI, and it was clear, but his hamstring didn't feel right," Marsch said. He said the decision protected the 25-year-old's career.
Davies described watching on as difficult. "We want players on the pitch who are 100% to play the game; I wasn't there yet," he said. "It was tough sitting there, watching the game, knowing you know that I'm not 100%."
The defeat closed only Canada's third World Cup appearance, but it delivered several records: a first World Cup point, a first win, over Qatar, and a first run into the knockout rounds. Canada, ranked 120th as recently as 2017, is now ranked 30th in the world.
Canada Soccer posted a message to supporters minutes after full-time. "Every story has an ending. This one just doesn't feel like one right now," it began, before signing off: "Canada's football journey is only just beginning. See you soon."
Prime Minister Mark Carney also paid tribute. "Congrats to #CANMNT on their historic World Cup run, where they proved that Canada is a soccer nation," his official account posted.
Morocco, whose ranking slipped from sixth to seventh overnight, will face France in the quarter-finals on Thursday in Boston.
