Morocco rout Canada 3-0 in Houston to become first African nation with multiple World Cup quarterfinal berths

HOUSTON (AP) — Azzedine Ounahi netted twice to propel Morocco to a 3-0 victory over Canada in the World Cup round of 16 on Saturday, making the country the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals on more than one occasion.

Morocco are into the last eight for the second straight tournament, having previously become the first African side to advance to the semifinals in 2022.

The game stayed level until the 50th minute, when Ounahi collected a free kick from Achraf Hakimi and fired a right-footed strike through a congested area from outside the penalty box into the bottom-right corner to give Morocco a 1-0 lead.

He extended the margin to 2-0 in the 82nd minute with another right-footed finish from the centre of the box after receiving a pass from Brahim Díaz.

Soufiane Rahimi added a third goal in the final minute of stoppage time.

Morocco will play the winner of Saturday's Paraguay-France match on Thursday at Boston Stadium.

The defeat brought down the curtain on a landmark campaign for World Cup co-host Canada, which had reached the last 16 after securing its first-ever knockout-round win, a 1-0 result against South Africa.