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Who: Canada vs Morocco
Contents: 2026 FIFA World Cup – Round of 16
Location: Houston Stadium, Texas, USA
Date and time: Saturday, July 4th, noon (17:00 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 14:00 GMT before the live text commentary stream.
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The Round of 16 begins on Saturday, with World Cup co-hosts Canada taking on Morocco in Houston, Texas.
It was a historic day for Canadian soccer, with the men’s team making it to the last 16 for the first time in Canadian history thanks to a dramatic late win against South Africa.
But as Canada looks to extend its dream, it faces a tough challenge from Morocco. Morocco defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout and earned their ticket to this match.
The African champions, who were semi-finalists in the last tournament, are undefeated in this tournament and are getting stronger with each match.
Al Jazeera brings you all about Canada vs. Morocco:
How did Canada and Morocco make it to the Round of 16?
Canada finished second in Group B with four points, winning against Qatar and drawing with Bosnia and Herzegovina. They lost to Switzerland in their final group match. Canada defeated South Africa 1-0 in the Round of 32.
Morocco finished second in Group C with seven points, beating Scotland and Haiti and holding Brazil to a draw. In the round of 32, they scored a late equalizing goal that sent the match into extra time, and they defeated the Netherlands 3-2 in a thrilling penalty shootout.
Can Canada pass the Moroccan test to extend the dream?
Canada is ranked 24 places below world No. 6 Morocco in the FIFA rankings, making them the underdogs in this round of 16 match. However, their campaign has been nothing short of a success after breaking numerous records in the tournament, including their first World Cup points and first-round win.
“Preparing for Morocco has been a brutal, terrifying nightmare,” coach Jesse Marsh said. “(But) we want to be here and we expect to be here, so we know people are going to look down on us. And that’s where the opportunity is.”
For Morocco, the game against Canada is just another hurdle to the deep run they hope to make in North America this summer. Four years after defeating Spain and Portugal to become the first Arab and African country to reach the semi-finals, Morocco arrived with bigger ambitions and growing expectations.
“If we did something wrong, we would go home,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouabi said. “We have to make sure we have all the tools, and we’re using the tools we have in our arsenal to do the best we can.”
Canada will be wary of Moroccan talismanic forward Ismael Saibari, Bayern Munich’s new signing, leading scorer with three goals and also scoring the winning goal to advance to the Round of 16.
Canada vs Morocco predictions
Thanks to the Opta supercomputer, Morocco has a 52.7 percent chance of winning within the stipulated time, compared to Canada’s 21.7 percent.
The model estimates a 25.6% chance of a game going into overtime.
Canada vs Morocco: Kickoff time, TV channels
Canada: RDS, TSN, Crave (1 p.m. EDT) Morocco: beIN SPORTS (6 p.m. EDT) US: FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock (1 p.m. EDT)
To see the TV listings for your country, visit the FIFA TV listings schedule here.
Who will the winner face in the quarterfinals?
The winner of Canada vs. Morocco will face either France or Paraguay in the quarterfinals on Thursday in Boston.
Canada vs Morocco: Head-to-head
The two teams have met four times so far, with Morocco winning three times and one match ending in a draw.
Canada is undefeated against Morocco, who won 2-1 in their last match in a group match for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Canada vs Morocco: Team News
Ismael Kone is out with a broken ankle. Alphonso Davies made his first appearance in the tournament, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute in the last game, and could have started against Morocco.
No injuries were reported in the Moroccan camp.
Canada’s projected lineup
(4-4-2): Crepeau (goalkeeper). Johnston, Bonbito, Cornelius, Laryea. Buchanan, Saliba, Eustaquio, Miller. David Oluwaseyi
Morocco’s predicted lineup
(4-2-3-1): Bono (goalkeeper). Hakimi, Diop, Riyad, Mazraoui. Bouadi, El Ainaoui. Diaz, Ounahi, El Cannous, Saibari
