Morocco is officially back in the round of 16 of the World Cup. The team beat Canada on Thursday 2-1, thanks to goals from Ziyech and En-Nesyri, and qualified for the World Cup stadium in Qatar at the top of Group F. Larin scored against Canadians.

At the same time, Croatia and Belgium were playing in the same group. Despite the 0-0 draw, the Croats managed to qualify for the next stage in second place in the group, with five points, two less than the Moroccans.

Ziyech, who opened the scoring for Morocco, scored his first Cup goal. Incidentally, the team is participating in its sixth edition of the tournament and is back in the round of 16 after 36 years. In addition to this year, the team was present in 1970, 1986, 1994, 1998 and 2018.

On the Canadian side, the team was aiming for its first victory in the history of the Worlds. However, they were eliminated early in the second round after suffering two defeats: they lost to Belgium 1-1 and were beaten by Croatia 4-1.

Morocco and Croatia are now waiting to define the classification of group E. Japan and Spain will face each other this Thursday, at 4 p.m. (Brasilia time), at the Khalifa International Stadium. Simultaneously, Costa Rica and Germany face off at Al Bayt Stadium.

One more foot in the Moroccan ranking

At three minutes, Morocco takes a new step towards qualification for the round of 16. The team tried to set up an attack down the left, but the ball ended up going down the middle of the field. The goalkeeper left the box to walk away and caused a sensation in defense. He ended up giving a timely pass to Ziyech, who took advantage and sent it into the back of the net.

Canada’s best response came in the 14th minute. Larin descended to the right, easily passed the defenders and crossed into the box. Buchanan had a great position to receive the cross, but he didn’t arrive in time and the ball went to the baseline.

The Moroccan advantage expanded soon after. The team made a good start to the match and Hakimi, with a good vision of the game, played with class the role of thrower to En-Nesyri, who went on the attack. The number 19 found himself between two markers, dominated the ball and struck hard to score the team’s second.

Towards the end, defender Aguerd had a misfortune. The Canadian Larin tried to cross into the area, but the Moroccan defender, in an attempt to ward off the danger, deflected towards the goal and scored an own goal.

Moreover, after a free kick, En-Nesyri scored his second of the game, but the referee disallowed the goal for interference in the action of the goalkeeper.

Managed scoreboard and return to round of 16

Back in the locker room, Canada came back more focused and looking for a game. The first more pretentious offer did not come out until the 11th minute. The selection fired a free kick into the area and Larin arrived late to attempt the goal.

Morocco’s consistent performance waned in the second half, no dangerous play was created and, with 20 minutes to go, the side came close to tying.

The ball was dropped in the penalty area and Hutchinson headed it towards the goal, but the ball hit the crossbar and the line and did not go in. The offer was even considered by VAR for a possible goal confirmation but only half of the ball crossed the target line.

The other minutes played on the pitch were the administration of Morocco and the pressure of Canada. However, the Moroccan team managed to maintain the advantage and take the place in first position of the group.

TECHNICAL SHEET

CANADA 1 X 2 MOROCCO

Square: Al Thumama Stadium, Doha

Date: December 1, 2022 (Thursday)

Hour: 12 hours (from Brasilia)

Arbitrator: Raphael Claus (BRA)

Assistants: Rodrigo Figueiredo Henrique Correa (BRA) and Danilo Simon (BRA)

VAR: Julio Bascunan (CHI)

Yellow cards: Hoilett, Osorio and Adekugbe (Canada)

GOALS

Canada: Aguerd (against), at 39′ of Q1

Morocco: Ziyech, 3′ from Q1, and En-Nesyri, 24′ from Q1

CANADA: Borjan; Johnston, Steven Victoria and Kamal Miller; Hoilett (Wotherspoon), Jonathan Osorio, Mark Kaye (Hutchinson) and Adekugbe (Kone); Buchanan, Cyle Larin (Jonathan David) and Alphonso Davies.

Technician: John Herdman

MOROCCO: Bono; Hakimi, Aguerd, Saiss and Mazraoui; Amrabat, Ounahi (El Yamiq) and Sabiri (Amallah); Ziyech (Hamdallah), En-Nesyri and Boufal (Aboukhlal).

Technician: Hoalid Rule