Canada loses 3-0 to Morocco

Editor’s Note: We were honoured to be a part of the excitement of FIFA World Cup 2026, and we want to revisit some of the moments, even those that were not favourable…

Canada became the first host to exit the 2026 World Cup, losing 3-0 to Morocco on Saturday, July 4^th, 2026, despite a first half performance where they dominated proceedings and looked like the only team intent on scoring. After a goalless first half, the second half saw goals by Azzedine Ounahi in the 50^th minute and 82^nd minute, and Soufiane Rahimi in the 98^th minute as Canada chased the game.

Canada dominated the first half but failed to score despite leading shot attempts 4-1 at the half. Many will look to Jonathan David as a major culprit, with the striker failing to lead the line. Despite scoring three goals, the Juventus man had a poor tournament overall and many will be questioning his quality after his poor season with Juventus continued.

In the 39^th minute, left-back Richie Laryea and star defender Achraf Hakimi got into a burst-up after the Moroccan body-checked Hakimi, sending him to the ground. Both players received yellow cards in an overall physical game, with referee Michael Oliver dishing out six yellow cards in total, four to Morocco and two to Canada.

Canada would rue not taking their chances in the first half as Morocco struck early in the second half with a well worked free-kick that left Azzedine Ounahi free at the top of the box to stroke home a well-placed side-footed shot, leaving the Canadian players questioning the defending.

From then on Morocco put on a counter-attacking masterclass, with Ounahi scoring from a break in the 82^nd and Soufiane Rahimi doing the same in the 98th minute with Canada pushing for a late goal.

There are two schools of thought on this:

• Canada went for it in the first half and totally outplayed the Moroccans.
• The Moroccans played it perfectly and figured that Canada, being the home team, would come out of the blocks. All they needed to do was weather the storm and let their quality shine through. Given that Morocco is the sixth rated side in the world and have considerable pedigree having made it to the semi-finals in the last World Cup in 2022 and are also the current African Cup of Nations champions (albeit controversially), this does indeed seem plausible.

Controversially, Canadian superstar Alphonso Davies did not play in this game, leading to a string of online backlash and questions about his allegiance to the country.

Many expected him to play considerable minutes after playing 15 mins in Canada’s last game against South Africa; however, Davies complained of feeling something while attempting to run leaving some social media commentators questioning his commitment to Canada.

Despite the loss, Canadian Head Coach Jesse Marsch was incredibly positive in his assessment of how the game went and Canada’s aggressive first half display, “I would rather be us than them. As good as Morocco is, I would rather be us. I am proud of our guys. We went after the game. They’re hurting right now, but, my goodness, I couldn’t be prouder.”

Overall, many will deem the 2026 tournament as remarkably successful for Canada. Recording its first point against Switzerland, a resounding victory Qatar, and a Round of 32 win against South Africa were all highlights that will inspire many to fall in love with the beautiful game. Let us not forget the hosting of the tournament, which went without any major hitch and many visitors proclaimed their love for hosting cities Toronto and Vancouver.

The World Cup 2026 final will be held on July 19^th.