Morocco 3-0 Canada
An intense second half gives Morocco the win and the first spot in the quarterfinals.
Morocco started out the game with most of the action happening in their own half. They focused on defense, only attempting to attack if a fast break presented itself. They seemed to be saving their attack for the second half as all of their chances in the first half seemed half-hearted. They moved the ball forward but rarely committed number to the attack.
In the second half it was the complete opposite. They would score in the 50th minute off a perfect set piece on the right side of the box. Instead of making a cross or attempting a shot, Achraf Hakimi made a hard pass to the center of the half moon, where Azzedine Ounahi was waiting. With only one touch, he passed the ball through the defenders and into the bottom right corner of the goal.
He got his second goal off a fast break, where Brahim Díaz cut back in the box, faking out both defenders, and barely got his pass off. Ounahi received it just behind the penalty spot and placed it into the upper right side of the goal. The last goal was a breakaway off a mistake by the Canadian defense. Brahim again lead the attack and made a through pass that found Soufiane Rahimi. All he had to do was pass the ball to the right of the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner of the goal.
I think Morocco started out slow but Canada put on a good game. Unfortunately they could not finish their chances. Morocco cannot afford to sit back and defend in their next match against France. If they want to advance, I think they will need to score first to give them some breathing room.
Morocco advances to the quarterfinals where they will face France on July 9 at 4 p.m. ET.
France 1-0 Paraguay
France’s game plan proves risky as they win 1-0 against Paraguay to advance to the quarterfinals.
The French played very conservatively on offense, which is not their normal game. Players like Olise and Dembélé did not take on as many players as they would normally do and Manu Koné was the only player taking his shots for France during the first half.
Paraguay was off to a very strong start as their defense made it so that France did not know what to do offensively.
In the second half, France was awarded a penalty that would give them their only goal. Mbappé calmly passed the ball into the bottom right corner, faking out Paraguay’s goalkeeper, Orlando Gill.
One thing went unnoticed in the buildup to the penalty. Once the referee made the call, there was a jumble of players in the box. In this group, one Paraguayan player is seen, as the referee is turned away, kicking at and trying to damage the penalty spot, in the hopes that this will make Mbappé miss. This is cheating in its most blatant form and should have been reviewed by VAR.
After the goal, the game would get rough and the match would end with more fouls called than attacking chances created by both teams combined.
This is the lowest scoring game France has had this tournament with the rest averaging a minimum of three goals. Although France has a strong defense, their real strength is their offense and if they want to keep advancing, they cannot afford to play this type of conservative offense.
France advances to the quarterfinals where they will face Morocco on July 9 at 4 p.m. ET.
Tomorrow, Brazil will faceoff against Norway at 4 p.m. ET, and Mexico will play England at 8 p.m. ET. The winners of these two matches will face each other in the quarterfinals.
As always, stay tuned to Futbolhijo.com for in-depth coverage of the biggest World Cup yet. Check back for my next article, where I will be covering matches and news that occur throughout the tournament. You can also read my previous article where I gave my thoughts on each Round of 16 matchup.
Cover Photo: Morocco and France Advance. NOTE: Image generated using the prompt “generate me an image that matches the following 2026 World Cup article title: Morocco and France are the first two teams to move on to the Quarterfinals,” by OpenAI, ChatGPT, 2026 (https://chatgpt.com/).
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