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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 Wo...

Scotland conceded after just 70 seconds as they slipped to defeat against a polished Morocco side However, their hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout stages for the first time remain in their own hands Author | Sean M Stadium | Boston Stadium Head coach Steve Clarke had called for the "footballing Gods to be smiling down on us", knowing that a point would have all but secured progression, but the Scots made the worst possible start. Slack defending allowed Ismael Saibari to fire the Africa Cup of Nations champions, ranked sixth in the world, into a stunning lead inside the opening two minutes. Watch | Another spine-tingling rendition of the Scottish national anthem Clarke reshuffled his side following Saturday's win over Haiti, with Celtic defender Kieran Tierney deployed on the left of midfield in an apparent attempt to keep Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi quiet. That plan quickly unravelled when centre-backs Grant Hanley and Jack Hendry allowed Saibari to burst in beh...

A poor Brazil performance means Carlo Ancelotti has a lot to think about  Vinicius Jr spared them the embarrassment of an opening World Cup defeat for the first time since 1934 as his brilliant solo effort earned the five-time champions a draw against Morocco Author | James Y Stadium | New York New Jersey Stadium Brazil fell behind in the 21st minute when Ismael Saibari lofted the ball over the advancing Alisson Becker from outside the penalty area following a breakdown in communication between the Liverpool goalkeeper and his defenders, Gabriel and Marquinhos. It was the first time the African champions had scored against South American opposition at a World Cup, having previously drawn blanks against Peru in 1970 and Brazil in 1998. READ MORE |  Qatar 1 - 1 Switzerland Morocco continued to dictate proceedings and, by the half-hour mark, had registered 12 shots, the most Brazil have faced in a World Cup match since their meeting with Mexico in 2018. Watch | Pre...