After 36 years, Morocco will grace the knockout stage at the FIFA World Cup again after edging out Canada 2-1 to finish top of Group F at the expense of Belgium who played to a barren draw in the other match with Croatia.This is the second time they will be playing in the knockouts, and also the second time that they finished top of the group the other one being in 1986 where they went on to get eliminated by West Germany in the knockouts.Apart from Morocco in 1986, the only other African countries to have topped a group at the World Cup finals were Cameroon in 1990 and Nigeria in 1994 and 1998.Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri scored for the Atlas Lions early in the first half, with Canada’s goal coming from a Nayef Aguerd towards the end of the first half, with no team finding the net in the second half although Canada came closest.Morocco are into the #FIFAWorldCup knockout stages for only the second time in history! 👏 🇲🇦 @adidasfootball | #Qatar2022— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 1, 2022 Morocco had the perfect start to the match with Hakim Ziyech scoring in the fourth minute to set the mood in the match and get his side rolling. Youssef En-Nesyri pressed the goalkeeper Milan Borjan from an awkward backpass which result in the 35-year-old custodian gifting the ball to Ziyech who calmly lifted it over Borjan and into the net.Junior Hoilett created the perfect chance for Canada 15 minutes in after bursting past his marker and floating in a good cross but Tajon Buchanan could not find the perfect contact with the back as his shot went wide.20 minutes after the opening goal, Morocco doubled their lead through Youssef En-Nesyri this time. The Sevilla man made a perfect run to receive a long-ball from Achraf Hakimi, putting it done with a nice first time and blasting it into the net with an even better low strike to beat Borjan for the second.It was a historic goal as Youssef En-Nesyri became the first Moroccan to score at two World Cups, having done so initially in Russia in 2018, scoring the side’s second goal in the two-all draw with Spain.Nayef Aguerd halved the deficit with five minutes left to the break, putting the ball into his own net from a Sam Adekugbe low cross and that goal gave The Maple Leafs new determination in the remaining minutes of the half.💪🇲🇦 Youssef En Nesyri: The first Moroccan to score at two World Cups#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/FKWCUwyQtE— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 1, 2022 Youssef En-Nesyri thought he had made it 3-1 for Morocco from a volley but his goal was struck off after the assistant referee flagged him for offside.Before the own goal, Morocco had gone for seven matches without conceding a goal, including two matches at the Qatar World Cup against Croatia and Belgium, the last time being in the 2-1 win over South Africa in their AFCON 2023 Qualifiers opener.After resumption for the second half, The Atlas Lions were out to add to their lead while Canada sought to level matters and exit the competition with their heads on a high.As fate would have it, John Herdman was the first coach to make changes as he introduced Atiba Hutchinson, Ismael Kone, and Jonathan David for Mark-Anthony Kaye, Sam Adekugbe, and Cyle Larin at the hour mark.Five minutes later, he brought in Richie Laryea for Jonathan Osorio as Walid Regragui made a double switch, introducing Zakaria Aboukhlal and Selim Amallah for Sofiane Boufal and Abdelhamid.Atiba Hutchinson almost grabbed the equalizer for Canada ten minutes after coming on but the 39-year-old saw his headed effort ricochet off the underside of the crossbar, onto the goalline, and back into the field of play, but his rebound from another header went over the bar. Morocco survived.With three minutes in regular time to play, Morocco’s custodian had the hearts of his teammates, the technical bench, and their fans racing after he almost returned the favor to Canada, fumbling with a ball he had chested just in front of the on-racing Alphonso Davis but he managed to gather the ball and protect the lead.7.50 Japan 4.20 Spain 1.57 20.0 Costa Rica 12.0 Germany 1.12
