On the Fourth of July, in front of 72,000 fans deep in the heart of Texas, Morocco reminded everyone that surviving is a skill. Canada threw everything at the Atlas Lions for 45 minutes, and it looked like the co-hosts’ fairytale had another chapter. Then Azzedine Ounahi happened twice.
Morocco won 3-0 to book a quarterfinal date with France or Paraguay, and Canada’s historic run ends in the Round of 16 — with heads high and a country converted.
Here are four takeaways from Houston:
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Let’s not sugarcoat the first half: Morocco was rattled. Canada pressed into oblivion, racking up 13 touches in the Moroccan box to Morocco’s one at the other end. Jonathan David tested Yassine Bounou early, Tani Oluwaseyi went one-on-one and was denied, and the loss of Ismael Saibari to injury after 22 minutes only deepened the panic. Seven yellow cards before halftime tell you how frantic it got.
So what changed? The break, mostly. Morocco came out calmer, stopped forcing passes through Canada’s press, and let the game breathe. Five minutes into the second half, Ounahi drilled home from the top of the box off Achraf Hakimi’s delivery, and suddenly the pressure flipped. From there, Morocco played smartly: they sat in, stayed compact, and killed Canada on the counter. It wasn’t a comeback on the scoreboard. It was a comeback of the mind.
(Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Luis Enrique famously asked in 2022: “My God, where does this guy come from?” Four years later, the Girona midfielder is still making people ask. His first was pure filth — a strike from the top of the penalty arc that kissed the bottom corner. His second was pure poise, racing onto Brahim Diaz’s touch on the counter and finishing like a striker. It’s the first World Cup brace by a Moroccan since Salaheddine Bassir buried two against Scotland in 1998.
Morocco needed it because the Saibari news looms large. The new Bayern Munich signing — Morocco’s top scorer at this tournament, who netted in every group game and converted the decisive penalty against the Netherlands — limped off clutching his hamstring. If he’s done, someone else has to carry the scoring load in the quarters. Ounahi just volunteered.
(Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
