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Azzedine Ounahi scored a brace to lead Morocco to a 3-0 victory over Canada in the World Cup round of 16 on Saturday, becoming the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament at least twice.
Morocco reached the quarterfinals for the second consecutive tournament, after becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals in 2022.
Neither team was able to break the deadlock until Ounahi received a service from Achraf Hakimi on a free kick and unleashed a powerful right-footed shot from outside the box to deposit the ball into the bottom right corner, putting Morocco ahead 1-0 in the 50th minute.
Ounahi doubled the lead with a right-footed shot from the center of the box after receiving a pass from Brahim Díaz in the 82nd minute.
Soufiane Rahimi sealed the scoring in the final minute of stoppage time.
Morocco will face the winner of the duel between Paraguay and France, which is being played later on Saturday, next Thursday in Boston.
With the loss, Canada reached the end of a historic participation as co-host of the World Cup. It achieved its first win in a knockout match by beating South Africa 1-0 to reach Saturday's match. In only its third World Cup appearance, its run in the tournament captured the attention of a nation that is generally much more interested in hockey than soccer.
Morocco, ranked sixth in the FIFA rankings, eliminated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to advance to the round of 16, the earliest elimination for the Dutch team in a World Cup.
Canada had a couple of opportunities to get on the scoreboard in the final stretch of the match. Jonathan David took a free kick from outside the box in the 78th minute that went over the crossbar.
Shortly after, Tajon Buchanan fired a powerful long-range shot that forced a spectacular save from goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Bounou, who was born in Canada to Moroccan parents, made three timely interventions to keep a clean sheet.
Both teams faced each other in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, when Morocco defeated Canada 2-1 in the group stage on their way to a fourth-place finish in the tournament.
It was an extremely physical match in which eight yellow cards were handed out, four for each side.
Hakimi and Canadian Richie Laryea were cautioned in the 40th minute after a brief shoving match between the two players.
Moroccan midfielder Ismael Saibari left the match due to injury in the 22nd minute.
[Publicidad]