Morocco is heading back to the quarterfinals and coach Mohamed Ouahbi believes his team has established itself among soccer’s elite. Azzedine Ounahi scored twice to lead Morocco to a 3-0 win over Canada in the World Cup round of 16 Saturday to make the country the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals more than once.
Historic Win
It’s Morocco’s second straight appearance in the round of eight after becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals in 2022. Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou said, “We are so proud to represent Africa because it’s a continent with a lot of talent and Africa deserves to be in the best level in football.”
Neither team was able to break through until Ounahi took a free kick from Achraf Hakimi and made a right-footed shot through traffic from outside the box to the bottom right corner to put Morocco on top 1-0 in the 50th minute. Ounahi made it 2-0 on a right-footed shot from the middle of the box off a pass from Brahim Díaz in the 82nd minute. Soufiane Rahimi added a goal in the final minute of stoppage time.
Next Match
Morocco advances to face the winner of Saturday’s Paraguay-France match on Thursday at Boston Stadium.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
