On Thursday in Qatar, Canada dropped its final game of the FIFA World Cup 2022, falling to Morocco 2-1; the latter made it to the last 16 for the first time in decades.
After failing to score in their first two matches and needing a win or a draw against Serbia to qualify for the round of 16, Morocco scored in the fourth minute with a lobbed ball from Hakim Ziyech over goalkeeper Milan Borjan. Forward Youssef En-Nesyri forced Borjan into an unenviable position. After catching Steven Vitoria’s back pass, Borjan attempted to rush forward to stop En-Nesyri and instead left his goal open.
En-Nesyri doubled Morocco’s lead in the 23rd minute when he ran onto a long ball and beat Borjan at the near post. En-Nesyri also tried to score during stoppage time, but that goal was ruled offside.
Our group’s champion is Morocco, who will be competing against the runner-up in Group E. The four other nations in Group E are Japan, Spain, Germany, and Costa Rica. Moroccan defender Nayef Aguerd gave Canada the first own-goal of this World Cup by flicking a cross by Sam Adekugbe past his goalkeeper Yassine Bounou in the 40th minute.
Canada automatically qualifies for the 2026 tournament as co-hosts with the United States and Mexico, which means they won’t win a game at this year’s World Cup.
Most Moroccan players are emotional, as their team has never been in this position since 1986. As Morocco has had their best performance this season and beat two of the biggest teams in the FIFA World Cup 2022, they were hot favorite for this match according to the experts from top FIFA betting sites.
Morocco is experiencing something they haven’t done in over 30 years! The players are crying their eyes out. They’ve made it to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Jubilant scenes at the Al Thumama Stadium for Morocco – the players are celebrating like it’s game over!
