2 hours ago In a gathering of 2 sides presently blessed by aureate generations of talent, it was the Moroccans who shone.
For Canada, injured Alphonso Davies was helpless connected the seat arsenic Morocco neutralised Stephen Eustaquio's unsafe passing and squeezed prima striker Jonathan David retired of the game.
Meanwhile, Morocco skipper Achraf Hakimi, arguably the world's champion close back, was a changeless menace some connected the shot and successful the Canadian players' faces, portion originative fulcrum Brahim Diaz claimed 2 assists. He present has 4 successful World Cups – the astir of immoderate African player.
"The archetypal fractional was precise intense," Morocco manager Mohamed Ouahbi told his post-match media conference.
"There were a fewer adjustments to beryllium made astatine half-time. We were ne'er harmless from pressure.
"What matters is we didn't alteration our identity, we didn't alteration our crippled philosophy. There were tons of ideas being thrown astir and we took the champion one.
"We are playing the World Cup which means determination volition beryllium hard moments. What matters is erstwhile we are not astatine our best, we person to beryllium resilient. We person to retrieve who we are playing for and what we are playing for."
It was much than capable to instrumentality Morocco to a 2nd successive men's World Cup quarter-final, progressing done 5 matches arsenic they did successful Qatar.
Morocco person present won 4 World Cup knockout matches - 2 successful 2022, 2 successful 2026 – which is arsenic galore arsenic each different African nations combined.
One much win, and they volition person officially matched their showing astatine the 2022 World Cup, wherever they became the archetypal African federation ever to scope the semi-finals.
So Morocco are contenders, though determination remains a feeling they person not been tested to their afloat capabilities yet.
They impressed successful drafting with Brazil successful their opening game, earlier contrasting wins implicit Scotland and Haiti – the archetypal a hard-fought slog pursuing a extremity wrong 2 minutes, the second a frenetic 4-2 against free-wheeling, already eliminated foes.
In the circular of 32, they were the amended squad against Netherlands but needed a stoppage-time header to debar elimination. Then against Canada they were yet comfortable, but it was not a high-quality triumph to assuage doubters up of a imaginable gathering with France successful the past eight.
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