Azzedine Ounahi scored twice on Saturday to steer Morocco into the last eight at the World Cup for the second consecutive tournament.
Issued on: 04/07/2026 - 21:48
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The 26-year old opened the scoring five minutes into the second half at the Houston Stadium. He doubled the advantage eight minutes from the end following a counter-attack. Soufiane Rahimi added the gloss in stoppage time. History for Morocco The victory made Morocco the first team from Africa to reach the quarter-finals twice. The loss ends a historic run for Canada, which won its first match in knockout round when they overcame South Africa in the last 32. Morocco, who lost in the semi finals at the 2022 World Cup to France, could play them in the last eight if Didier Deschamps' men see off Paraguay on Saturday night in Philadelphia. Hot in Philadelphia The match will be played against a backdrop of extreme heat warnings. Temperatures in the city hit 38° celsius on Friday. The US National Weather Service warned of similarly high temperatures when the game kicks off. The team will be prepared for the conditions, said Deschamps on the eve of the clash. "It is something we need to take into account, but I think every team has prepared for it. It can have an impact on all the teams," added the 57-year-old Frenchman French firepower at World Cup France have scored 13 goals in their surge to the last 16. Paraguay distinguished themselves with the penalty shootout victory in the last 32 over Germany on 29 June. Head coach Gustavo Alfaro said he was more concerned about France's attacking quartet of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and Désiré Doué than the weather though he did make a meteorological analogy when describing the French forwards. "France are like an electrical storm," said Alfaro. "We need to be aware that the storm is coming and try to be prepared for the lightning bolts."
