Adding to the frustration of their World Cup exit already being confirmed, Canada got off to the worst possible start in their final Group F game. After rushing out of his goal to collect Steven Vitória’s underhit backpass, Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan saw his first touch get away from him, and Hakim Ziyech was waiting to lob his shot into an empty net to snatch an all-important lead for the Atlas Lions inside five minutes.
To make matters worse for the Canadians, Morocco doubled their lead in style just over 15 minutes later when Achraf Hakimi’s raking pass found Youssef En-Nesyri in stride, and the striker slotted home clinically. While it looked like the North Africans would be taking an insurmountable lead into the break, it was cut in half in the final five minutes before the interval, as Sam Adekugbe’s cross glanced off Nayef Aguerd and beat the outstretched hand of Yassine Bounou, opening the door to a potential twist in the tale in the second half.
Canada pushed to equalise throughout the second half despite having nothing to play for but pride and the Maple Leafs came within inches of leveling the scoreline just past the 70-minute mark. However, Atiba Hutchinson’s headed effort rang the crossbar and only just failed to cross the line, while Alistair Johnston couldn’t keep his follow-up header down. While they were made to sweat it out, Morocco hung on to complete their heroic effort in Group F, securing their place as group winners.
After a superb qualifying campaign in CONCACAF, Canada will leave Qatar with a sour taste in their mouths after suffering defeats in all three games. However, they can begin to look ahead to 2026 as the North American country will be one of the three co-hosts for the next World Cup.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco)
