06 July,2026 08:40 AM IST | Houston | AFP
Mohamed Ouahbi. Pic/AFP
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said "we're no longer a surprise" after reaching the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
The north African side were not at their best but were clinical in defeating co-hosts Canada 3-0 in Houston and will face France next.
After a first half littered with more bookings than shots and with Canada on top, midfielder Azzedine Ounahi fired the opener on 50 minutes.
Canada - playing the biggest game in their footballing history - pushed for an equaliser, but Ounahi scored his second to finally see off the resistance of Jesse Marsch's men. Substitute Soufiane Rahimi slipped in the third with the last kick of the match.
Morocco made the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup and won the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and Ouahbi said: "We're no longer a surprise today and that's a great source of pride.
"I think this is only the beginning and I hope we'll keep producing this kind of run for many years."
Morocco lost to France in the last four at Qatar 2022, but the coach said revenge was not their motivation.
"We want to go as far as possible and make our people proud," he said.
Two
No. of consecutive World Cup quarter-final appearances for Morocco (2022 & 2026) - the first African nation to do so
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