World Cup 2026 | Canada 0 - 3 Morocco
Canada became the first co-host nation to exit the 2026 World Cup
It was, in the end, a convincing victory by Morocco in Houston.
Author | James Y
Stadium | Houston Stadium
Morocco, who struggled to find their rhythm during an ill-tempered first half, went ahead five minutes after the restart through Azzedine Ounahi.
Ounahi swept home Achraf Hakimi's cut-back from a cleverly worked free kick after the Canada defence failed to close him down on the edge of the area.
The Girona midfielder doubled his tally with eight minutes remaining, finishing a swift counter-attack to put the result beyond doubt.
An increasingly comfortable victory was completed in stoppage time when Soufiane Rahimi slid his finish beneath goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau.
It was a harsh outcome for Canada
They had made the brighter start in Texas and could easily have been ahead inside the opening stages.
Morocco now advance and move to within one victory of matching their historic run to the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup.
Canada pressed relentlessly from the outset, with both Jonathan David and Tani Oluwaseyi denied in one-on-one situations by Morocco goalkeeper Bono during the opening 11 minutes.
The African side were well below their best and visibly frustrated for long spells as English referee Michael Oliver produced seven yellow cards.
Morocco nevertheless found a way through and almost added a third when Rahimi looped a header against the crossbar, before finally getting his goal with the last kick of the match.
The result brings Canada's most successful men's World Cup campaign to an end, a tournament in which they claimed their first point, first victory, first passage beyond the group stage and first knockout win.
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