- CAF has sent a message to Morocco after reaching the quarter-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- The Atlas Lions beat co-hosts Canada 3-0 to advance to their second consecutive quarter-final
- They will face the winner of the other Round of 16 fixture between France and Paraguay in the next game
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has applauded Morocco after they reached the World Cup quarter-final in consecutive tournaments.
Morocco defeated co-hosts Canada 3-0 in their Round of 16 fixture thanks Azzedine Ounahi’s brace and Soufiane Rahimi’s strike to advance to the last eight.
Source: Getty Images
Canada started on the front foot, but Morocco’s quality and experience helped them stay patient and exploit the co-hosts weaknesses in transition.
The Atlas Lions will face the winner of the Round of 16 tie between France and Paraguay, but will do so without Ismael Saibari who suffered a hamstring injury.
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CAF sends message to Morocco
CAF shared a post on their official X page to celebrate the Atlas Lions’ historic achievement of reaching back-to-back World Cup quarter-final.
They became the first African nation to achieve this feat and are on course to match their best finish of a semi-final achieved at the 2022 edition in Qatar.
What the managers said
Canada national team head coach Jesse Marsch admitted that Morocco’s quality in the final third was the difference between the two sides.
“They made a couple more plays than us but cranking up the intensity was not the issue. It’s just they have a little bit more quality in the final third and we lacked a bit of ability to make a play when we needed it,” he told FIFA.
“But in terms of the match plan and the idea of how we want to play football and the idea of a bunch of guys believing in themselves… we were the much better team in the first half and even the beginning of the second half.”
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Moroccan head coach Mohamed Ouahbi was grateful for the progress, and admitted that Canada were impressive despite the scoreline.
“We are very happy. It’s a World Cup match and these are difficult games with teams playing for their lives. We reacted very well in the second half in the second balls and the duels,” he said.
“I have to recognise that Canada were impressive – they played a top match. It was no surprise for us but in the second half we were able to profit from the space they left us – that was the key.”
Source: Getty Images
Canada can be proud of their journey. They won their first points, their first game, reached the knockout stage and won in it for the first time in their history.
CAF supported Morocco to beat Canada
Legit.ng previously reported that CAF backed Morocco to triumph over Canada and qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final.
The Atlas Lions and Egypt were the only African teams to make it to the Round of 16 after seven were cruelly eliminated in the Round of 32.
Source: Legit.ng