Casablanca – The Moroccan flag is flying high across cities throughout Morocco, in celebration of the Moroccan national team’s victory over Canada and passage to the Quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Tonight is historic by any measure. With shouts of joy, chants, and tears, Moroccans are cheering the country’s qualification to the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the second time in a row on Saturday after dominating Canada, a thrilling match that held Moroccans’ breath until the final whistle.
Morocco started the match with a scare; Ismael Saibari had to leave the field in the twentieth minute due to a hamstring injury, visibly emotional as he left the pitch.
Soufiane Rahimi replaced him. The first half saw Redouane Halhal receive the first yellow card, followed by Achraf Hakimi, Azzedine Ounahi, and Bilal El Khannous.
The milestone arrived in the 50th minute when Hakimi delivered a perfect pass to Ounahi, who calmly shot the ball beyond the Canadian goalkeeper to give the Atlas Lions the lead.
In the 82nd minute, Brahim Diaz slipped an intelligent pass through the Canadian defence, allowing Ounahi to finish with a composed shot, his second of the evening, crowning him the player of the match.
As soon as Atlas Lions star Soufiane Rahimi scored the sealing goal that wrapped up the win, cries of joy, shouts, and car sirens rose in the streets of cities across Morocco.
Local and international media reported videos of celebrations sweeping through the streets of cities across the country.
In Casablanca. Rabat. Oujda. Agadir. South, north, east, and west. Joy knew no boundaries. Moroccans poured into the streets, embracing one another as the nation celebrated a night for the history books.
