An impassioned Moroccan team clinched a spot in the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time since 1986 by defeating the already-eliminated Canadians 2-1 on Thursday, mercilessly capitalising on their opponents’ blunders.<\/p>\n
Morocco, who needed a win or a draw in their final Group F match to reach the knockout rounds, took advantage of a weak clearance by goalkeeper Milan Borjan that landed on the foot of Hakim Ziyech.<\/p>\n
Cheered on by a boisterous crowd of Moroccan fans, midfielder Ziyech effortlessly lobbed the ball over the stranded goalkeeper to open scoring in the fourth minute.<\/p>\n
Borjan had been placed in an unenviable position by central defender Steven Vitoria, whose weak back pass forced the goalkeeper to race Moroccan forward Youssef En-Nesyri to the ball.<\/p>\n
En-Nesyri remained dangerous throughout the first half, doubling Morocco’s lead in the 23rd minute when he ran onto a long ball from Achraf Hakimi and beat Borjan at the near post.<\/p>\n
En-Nesyri also thumped a volley into the Canadian net during stoppage time in the first half but that goal was ruled offside.<\/p>\n
Overwhelmed with emotion, Hakimi wept after the match.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t think about it, but now I realise we made history,” he said. “We work very hard and we deserve it.”<\/p>\n
With Croatia drawing with Belgium 0-0 in the other Group F game, Morocco finish first in the group and will face the second-place finishers in Group E, which is made up of Japan, Spain, Germany and Costa Rica.<\/p>\n
Moroccan manager Walid Regragui predicted his side will prove capable of challenging a mighty opponent in the stage.<\/p>\n
“We are going to be a very difficult team to beat,” he said. “I think African teams can go far. Why shouldn’t we dream of winning the World Cup?”<\/p>\n
Moroccan defender Nayef Aguerd put Canada on the scoreboard with an own goal, the first of this World Cup, by accidentally flicking a cross by Sam Adekugbe past his own goalkeeper Yassine Bounou in the 40th minute.<\/p>\n
Canada, who are exiting their first World Cup since 1986 without a point, automatically qualify for the 2026 tournament as co-hosts along with the United States and Mexico.<\/p>\n
Source: Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An impassioned Moroccan team clinched a spot in the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time since 1986 by defeating the already-eliminated Canadians 2-1 on Thursday, mercilessly capitalising on their opponents’ blunders. Morocco, who needed a win or a draw in their final Group F match to reach the knockout rounds, took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6640,22],"tags":[799,3161,6033],"class_list":["post-113358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-fifa-2022","category-sports","tag-canada","tag-morocco","tag-world-cup-2022"],"yoast_head":"\n