After the game, coach Qahbi said, ”We are no longer the surprise team in world football at any level. We are now title contenders in any world-class competition, and this is also a proud achievement for us.”
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After Morocco reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup, team coach Mohamed Kouhabi has claimed that his team is now one of the top teams in world football.
After their victory over hosts Canada in the last 16, Morocco has also become the first African country to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup on more than one occasion. After the match, coach Kouhabi said, ‘We are no longer the surprise team in world football in any situation. We are now contenders for the title in any world-class competition and this is also a proud achievement for us. In my opinion, this is just the beginning and this trend will continue with the teams that come after.’
Although Morocco has created new history during its journey so far, the team has a bigger goal. Kouhabi adds, ‘We want to move forward, our goal is not to stop there.’
Morocco reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, becoming the first African nation to achieve such a feat. Morocco goalkeeper Yacine Bonou says, ‘We are playing for Africa and we are proud of it. There is no shortage of talent in Africa. That is why African teams deserve more success in a big tournament like the World Cup.’
After a goalless draw, Azzedine Onahi scored twice for Morocco. Sophine Rahimi added a third goal in injury time. Morocco will face France in the quarter-finals on Saturday. Morocco is ranked seventh in the FIFA rankings. It defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout in the second round. Morocco was also undefeated in the group stage, which also included Brazil.
The loss brought an end to the historic journey of co-hosts Canada in the World Cup. This is only the third time Canada has played in the World Cup. Ice hockey is more popular in Canada than football. Canada coach Jesse Marsh said he was proud of his team's journey.
He said, "I'm proud of the way our players performed. What I want to tell them is that Canada is always capable of playing so much in a tournament like the World Cup, even against high-level opponents."
He also claimed that despite the loss, Canada's performance on the field was superior to Morocco. He added, "The way we played this game was at a very high level. I think we were the better team for 98 minutes. Were they better than us? Maybe that's not true." "If anyone says we lost this game by three goals, it's a little hard to believe." Canada became the first team out of the three hosts to be eliminated from the tournament.
