Morocco coach Walid Regragui is thrown into the air by Morocco players as they celebrate qualifying for the knockout stages. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
Morocco coach Walid Regragui is thrown into the air by Morocco players as they celebrate qualifying for the knockout stages. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
A moving post-match email: “In 1993 as a boy I stayed up all night to watch Canada lose on penalties in an inter-confederation qualifying playoff versus Australia and had tears in my eyes,” writes Benjamin Clark. “I thought that team would build on that campaign but qualification struggles followed for the majority of my life.
“Last January, my soccer-crazy son and I attended our first game together and watched Canada win 2-0 against the USA in the qualifier in Hamilton with Sam Adekugbe’s goal occurring right in front of our ecstatic eyes. I will be eternally grateful to this Canada team for all the moments that the qualifying campaign and this World Cup has provided and especially for the moments I’ve shared with my son and family. Thank you!
“Also thank you to the Canadian women for the Olympic Gold medal game which was also fantastic! I never thought I would live to see such Canadian soccer accomplishments.”
Group F: “Morocco are through to the last-16 of the WOrld Cup for the second time in their history after an early pair of goals from Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri brushed aside any suspense of their progress,” writes Bryan Armen Graham from Al Thumama Stadium.
John Herdman: “That they were two inches away from securing the first point for Canada,” says Canada’s manager upon being asked what his team learned today. “I think everyone thought that ball was going to cross the line, we were willing it but it didn’t. So you’ve seen our resilience, you’ve seen our quality against a Morocco team that’s just won the group.
“I’m proud of what these lads have shown here. It’s going to sting but there isn’t a game that we’re not proud of. I think we competed in every match here. It’s the first time we’ve been here in 36 years so there’s a qualitative gap at all levels and we’re trying to close that. We’ll keep learning as an organisation, as a coach and as players and we’ll be back stronger. This was our first step into the great unknown and we’ve learned a lot. We’ve got quality, we can compete and we were close.”
Atiba Hutchinson: “On the chance, it was a very good ball in and I just tried to get my head on it and keep it down,” says the Canadian veteran. “It wasn’t enough. Today we gave everything but it just wasn’t enough. We tried our best, we gave everything we have inside of us because we wanted to fight for ourselves and get something out of this tournament, to get the first points on the board for this country. We’re all proud of ourselves and what we’ve done. We’ve come and shown the world what we’re made of. It’s the start of a new beginning for us and in four years time we’ll be there again and we’ll make some noise.”
It’s all over! For only the second time in their history, Morocco advance to the knockout stages and I’ll tell you something for nothing, on the evidence we’ve seen in this World Cup so far they’re going to take some beating. They conceded their first goal in seven games today and it took one of their own defenders to score it. Their players, coaching staff, substitutes and fans are understandably ecstatic.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui does a little dance as his team finish top of the group. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
90 min: It’s kitchen sink time for Canada, who are throwing everything at Morocco. They win a corner and their goalkeeper Milan Borjan comes up to make a nuisance of himself. Alphonso Davies’ delivery is dreadful. As Morocco clear, the ball goes out for a throw-in. Davies chucks the ball to Borjan, whose cross into the mixer is headed clear. With Borjan sprinting back upfield, the ball drops his way. He swings wildly at it and misses but on this occasion gets away with his lack of finesse.
87 min: Morocco goalkeeper Bono darts a couple of yards outside his penalty area to collect a through ball, remembers he can’t catch it and under pressure from Alphonso Davies, chests it back into the box and catches it as a somewhat bemused Romain Saiss looks on. Hey, whatever works.
84 min: Steven Vitoria is booked for catching Hamdallah with his arm. The Moroccan goes to ground holding his face and rolls theatrically for about 10 yards.
82 min:Canada corner. With Junior Hoilett no longer on the pitch, Alphonso Davies swings the ball to the near post, where Alistair Johnston had made a darting run. The defender gets too much of his noggin on the ball and what was supposed to be a flick sends the ball high and wide.
79 min: Sofyan Amrabat goes on a promising run infield with the ball at his feet but tries to do too much. He cuts back needlessly and is disposssessed when he should have played the ball left and wide to the completely unmarked Aboukhlal.
71 min: Oh Canada, how’s your luck? An Alphonso Davies free-kick is headed out for a Canada corner. Junior Hoilett’s inswinger is headed goalwards by Atiba Hutchinson, rattles the crossbar and bounces down on to the line. A heavily marked Jonathan David is unable to nod it home as it bounces back up. I was sure that was in but the technology and an action replay says otherwise.
Atiba Hutchinson’s header bounces down off the crossbar. Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters
70 min: Hakim Ziyech goes down on the edge of the Canada penalty area, desperately appealing for a penalty … a free-kick … anything. The referee is having none of it and signals to him to get to his feet.
69 min: Amid all those changes, a football match threatens to break out again with Canada still searching for an equaliser. They’re spending a lot more time around the fringes of the Morocco penalty area but really struggling to create anything in the way of goalscoring chances.
61 min: Canada triple-substitution: Atiba Hutchinson, Ismail Kone and Jonathan David on. Sam Adekugbe, Mark-Anthony Kane and Cyle Larin make way. Hutchinson, the oldest player to feature at a World Cup since Cameroon’s fabled senior citizen Roger Milla, is 39 and there is talk that this could be his last appearance for his country.
59 min: Junior Hoilett goes to ground injured after being clattered by Sofyan Amrabat. Play continues as he lies on the deck holding his head but is eventually stopped when the ref spots him.
57 min: Junior Hoilett sends in a decent cross from the right. In the centre, Alphonso Davies stretches and gets his toe to the ball but is unable to steer it on target. A good chance goes to waste.
56 min: The free-kick is an inswinger that bounces on the edge of the six yard box and sails wide. There was too much pace on it for Cyle Larin to get on the end of it at the far post.
55 min: Ziyech is penalised for a foul on Davies. Moments later, Sofiane Boufal fouls Junior Hoilett and Canada have a free-kick in a good position wide on the right.
50 min: Ziyech tries to play Boufal in behind with an excellent ball from deep. The former Southampton man isn’t quick enough to beat Jonathan Osorio to the ball and the Canadian midfielder clears.
48 min: Achraf Hakimi goes on a mazy run infield before pinging the ball wide to Hakim Ziyech. He plays the ball inside, where Hakimi tries to backheel it into the path of En-Nesyri. His well-intentioned flick doesn’t quite come off and Canada clear their lines.
46 min: On BBC co-comms, Martin Keown is bemoaning the misuse of Alphonso Davies, who is cutting a forlorn figure as his teammates struggle to get him on the ball. He’s played in three different positions so far in this tournament – right wing-back, left wing-back and right wing – and now appears to have been moved further upfield into a centre-forward position.
Half-time analysis: “Canada was coming into this with tempered expectations - but at least that of bettering their showing in Mexico 86,” writes John Pitre. “And I guess they did - scoring a goal (at least) - this time around. But the harsh reality that a positive Canadian attitude and boundless energy will only get you so far is a hard lesson. As was said on the Football Weekly podcast, youth is on their side and hopefully we can build on an excellent qualifying campaign and lessons learned for 2026. But my fear is that this is tough lesson is going to haunt them for a while.”
While I don’t disagree with much of the above, it is worth remembering that Canada played Belgium off the park in their opening game. It was profligacy in front of goal that ultimately cost them the points.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it dept: “World Cup organisers are increasingly open to discarding the new three-team group format for the 2026 tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada,” reports Sean Ingle from Doha.
Elsewhere in Group F: It’s scoreless between Croatia and Belgium at half-time. As things stand Morocco will go through to the last 16 as group winners, with Croatia joining them in second place.
Peep! Raphael Claus draws first half proceedings to a close in a what has thus far been a very entertaining game. Morocco lead by the odd goal of three, on the back of an audacious chip from Hakim Ziyech and a fine strike from Youssef En-Nesyri. Canada pulled one back when Nayef Aguerd unwittingly blocked a Sam Adekugbe cross from the left into the corner of his own goal.
45+3 min: Morocco’s “goal” is ruled out because Nayef Aguerd was in an offside position and ajudged to have been in the goalkeeper’s line of vision when En-Nesyri struck his volley. Between that infringement and his own goal, the Moroccan central defender has been Canada’s undisputed man of the match so far.
45+1 min: Sam Adekugbe is booked for a foul and Morocco win a free-kick wide on the right. Ziyech swings the ball into the mixer, the ball is half-cleared and Youssef En-Nesyri scores with a volley. Or does he?
42 min: It was a goal that came very much against the run of play but Canada will take whatever they can get. Aguerd is credited with the goal, despite the best attempts of his goalkeeper, Bono, who tried to claw the ball away from the goal but succeeded only in helping it over the line. Morocco’s Nayef Aguerd becomes Canada’s joint top goalscorer in World Cup finals history.
Canada pull one back! Nayef Aguerd scores the first own goal of the tournament, turning a low Sam Adekugbe cross to the near post past his own goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.
West Ham’s Nayef Aguerd turns the ball past his own ‘keeper. Oops. Photograph: Vassilis Morellas/Reuters
39 min: Steven Vitoria is penalised for a shove to the back of Youssef En-Nesyri as the pair contested a high ball. He protests his innocence but replays show it was a fair kop by referee Raphael Claus.
37 min: Cyle Larin picks up the ball in a promising position on the right wing but his attempted cross is poor. Morocco regain possession but give the ball straight back to Junior Hoilett.
32 min: Romain Saiss picks out Ziyech with a wonderful ball out wide to the right touchline. He advances upfield before pulling the ball back into the penalty area, where Aliostair Johnson blocks Abdelhamid Sabiri’s shot on goal.
28 min: Well under the cosh, Canada continue to struggle to string more than a few passes together. Their central midfielder Jonathan Osario has just been booked for some indiscretion or other.
27 min: En-Nesyri chased a long ball from the back, got between two Canada defenders and shot past Borjan, who was beaten by the pace of the first-time strike but almost certainly should have done better.
