Match 42 of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 saw Morocco take on Canada in a bout to make it to the top 16. Two quick fire goals in the first half put Morocco on the early lead as the Canadians struggled to level the score or rope in a victory. They did manage to narrow the gap with a goal in the 40th minute, but that was just it for them. The match eventually ended with the referee’s whistle, with the final scoreboard reading 2-1 in favor of Morocco.
While the Marruecos were pretty much assured of a spot in the round of 16 after a convincing 2-0 victory over tablemates Croatia in their previous encounter, a victory would cement their stay at the top of the Group F rankings. Canada on the other hand were already out of the tournament, having lost both their previous matches. However, they were hoping to at least end their FIFA 2022 run on a winning note against Morocco.
The match saw the momentum quickly shift in favor of Morocco as they began dominating in the earliest minutes. With the clock reaching just 4 minutes into the first half, the Canadian goalie Milan Borjan inadvertently gave away the ball to Hakim Ziyech, who chipped the ball back over his head and into the empty net. An extremely terrible mistake by the Canadian goalkeeper. As the game carries on, Achraf Hakimi sent a precise pass through the Canadian defense as En-Nesyri ran across for it and smashed the ball past Borjan into the nets to give Morocco their second goal of the match just 23 minutes into the first half. This strike strengthened Morocco’s grip on a spot in the top 16.
Canada, who had stepped foot onto their first World Cup grass 1986, managed to strike back and narrow the gap shortly before half-time due to an unfortunate own-goal by Nayef Aguerd who inadvertently turned a cross by Sam Adekugbe into the Moroccan net. Amusingly, the only goal for Canada in this match came from the boots of a Moroccan player. However, even a slip by their opponents could not see them go any further, as the match ended 2-1 after 90+4 minutes of high adrenaline action. Canada ultimately finished their FIFA 2022 run without a point at bottom of the Group F standings.
The Marruecos victory also made them the first African team to qualify for the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup since 1998, where Nigeria had made it to the top 16. They will now play Spain, who finished second in Group E, at the Ar Rayyan Stadium. On the other side, Belgium and Croatia fought to a draw which resulted in the latter finishing second in the Group F table, pushing them through to the round of 16.
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