Morocco and Canada squared off in game 42 of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 in a contest to advance to the round of 16. Morocco took an early lead in the first half thanks to a pair of fast goals, while Canada struggled to catch up or claim a win. With a score in the 40th minute, they did manage to close the margin, but that was all for them. Eventually, the referee blew his whistle to signal the conclusion of the game, and Morocco had won 2-1.
Although the Marruecos were already essentially guaranteed a spot in the round of 16 following a convincing 2-0 victory over tablemates Croatia in their previous match, a win would solidify their position atop Group F. Canada, on the other hand, had already been eliminated from the competition after dropping both of their prior games. But they were hoping to at least finish their FIFA 2022 campaign with a victory over Morocco.
Morocco swiftly gained control of the game as they started to dominate in the opening minutes. Just four minutes had passed in the first half when Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan unintentionally handed the ball to Hakim Ziyech, who chipped it back over his head and into the open goal. A truly awful error by the Canadian goaltender. Just 23 minutes into the first half, Achraf Hakimi sent a precise pass through the Canadian defense, where En-Nesyri ran across for it and smashed the ball past Borjan into the goal. This was Morocco’s second goal of the game. This goal tightened Morocco’s hold on a top-16 spot.
A regrettable own goal by Nayef Aguerd, who unintentionally turned a cross from Sam Adekugbe into the Moroccan net, allowed Canada, who played in their first World Cup on grass in 1986, to come back and narrow the deficit just before halftime. Amusingly, a Moroccan player’s boots were responsible for Canada’s lone goal in this game. However, despite a mistake by their opponents, they were unable to advance, and after 90+4 minutes of high-intensity action, the score was 2-1. Canada ultimately finished their FIFA 2022 campaign without scoring and in last place in Group F.
Marruecos’ triumph also gave them the first African team to reach the FIFA World Cup’s knockout rounds since Nigeria reached the top 16 in 1998. At the Ar Rayyan Stadium, they will now take on Spain, which came in second place in Group E. On the other hand, Croatia and Belgium played to a draw, which allowed Croatia to finish second in Group F’s table and advance to the round of 16.
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