Morocco 3-0 Canada: Ounahi Double, World Cup 2026 Quarterfinal

Azzedine Ounahi scored twice in the second half as Morocco knocked co-hosts Canada out of the World Cup with a 3-0 win in Houston on Saturday, booking a quarterfinal against France. The Atlas Lions were held to a goalless first half before Ounahi opened the scoring in the 50th minute and doubled the lead in the 82nd, with Soufiane Rahimi adding a third in stoppage time. Canada's tournament, the deepest run in the men's program's history as a host nation, ended without a knockout goal.

This was the favorite doing its job, but only after a slow start. The market had Morocco as a clear price to advance, and the scoreline flattered a game that stayed level for an hour before the Atlas Lions found their range.

How Morocco Beat Canada

Morocco needed a set piece to break the deadlock. Ounahi collected a free-kick delivery from Achraf Hakimi and drove a right-footed shot through traffic from outside the box into the bottom-right corner in the 50th minute, the goal that finally separated two sides who had cancelled each other out before the break. From there the game opened up.

The second was a counterattack finish. Brahim Diaz sprung Morocco forward and slipped Ounahi in on the break in the 82nd minute, and the midfielder swept home from the middle of the box to make it 2-0 and effectively end the tie. Rahimi, who had come on for Saibari before halftime after the forward went down injured, capped it in stoppage time with a third, again teed up by Diaz.

Diaz's two assists moved him to a new African record for career World Cup assists, and his creative output was the difference once Morocco stopped forcing the issue and let the game come to them. Canada, playing in front of a partisan Houston crowd, controlled stretches of the first half but never turned territory into clear chances against a disciplined Moroccan back line.

The Numbers

The final margin, 3-0, does not fully capture how tight this was for 50 minutes. Morocco, semifinalists at the 2022 World Cup, carried the pedigree and the depth, and it showed in how they closed the game out once ahead rather than in how they started it. Ounahi's brace was the headline, but the shape of the win, one goal from a set piece and two from transition after Canada had to chase, is the detail that matters for how the market prices Morocco next.

Canada leave with the pain of a home elimination and zero goals across their two knockout appearances at this World Cup. For a program that reached the Round of 16 as co-hosts, the run was historic, but the finish was a reminder of the gap between reaching the knockouts and surviving them. Morocco move into the last eight for the second straight World Cup cycle, a level of consistency that reframes them from surprise package to genuine contender.

Betting and DFS Impact

The chalk held. Morocco were priced around minus-115 on the regulation moneyline and roughly minus-235 to advance on DraftKings on July 4, with Canada out around plus-340 to win and plus-190 to advance, and the favorites delivered on both the result and the qualification market. Anyone on Morocco to advance or on the Atlas Lions on the draw-no-bet line collected, and the clean sheet made Morocco team-total unders and both-teams-to-score "no" the correct side on a night when Canada could not manufacture a real opening.

For player props, Ounahi was the story from a midfield spot that rarely tops anytime-scorer boards, a reminder that Morocco's goals do not funnel through a single striker. Hakimi's assist and Diaz's two helpers reinforce where the value sits in Moroccan scorer and assist markets: the fullback and the creators, not just the forwards. The clean sheet also rewards anyone who had backed Morocco's low-event profile, which has been a throughline of their tournament.

The bigger betting question now is the quarterfinal. Morocco face France in Boston on July 9, and the market will open France as the favorite. The read from this game is that Morocco are comfortable defending a low block and striking on transition, exactly the profile that can keep a heavily favored opponent honest, so the France team-total and match-total unders are worth watching as those numbers post.

What to Watch Next

Morocco meet France in the quarterfinal in Boston on Thursday, July 9, a rematch of styles between a possession-heavy favorite and a counter-punching side that just kept a clean sheet against a motivated host. The key inputs are Saibari's fitness after his early exit and whether Rahimi's stoppage-time cameo earns him a bigger role up top. On the France side, Kylian Mbappe's form and France's own narrow 1-0 win over Paraguay set the terms of the matchup.

Chad AI tracks every Round of 16 and quarterfinal prop on the World Cup slate inside the app. Follow the reads on our soccer daily picks page and the main Chad picks hub before Thursday. For the other half of Morocco's quarterfinal, see our recap of France's 1-0 win over Paraguay, and ESPN has the full Canada-Morocco match timeline.

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