Canada faces its toughest test of this FIFA World Cup on Saturday, meeting Africa Cup of Nations holders Morocco in Houston in the Round of 16.
The Atlas Lions are ranked No. 6, making them Canada’s highest-ranked opponent since the CanMNT opened the 2022 World Cup in Qatar against then-No. 2 Belgium. Canada also faced Morocco at that tournament.
Morocco arrive after strong Group C run
Morocco finished second in Group C, level on seven points with Brazil but behind on goal difference. The Atlas Lions opened with a 1-1 draw against the Selecao, then beat Scotland 1-0 before a 4-2 win over Haiti.
Ismael Saibari, newly signed by Bayern Munich after six seasons with PSV, scored in all three group matches for Morocco.
Mohamed Ouahbi leads Atlas Lions at first major tournament
Mohamed Ouahbi is in charge of Morocco at a major tournament for the first time. The Brussels-area native did not play football at a high level and began coaching in 1997 at the age of 21.
Ouahbi’s major break came when he joined Pro League giants Anderlecht as a youth coach. He spent nearly two decades at the club before joining the Atlas Lions program in 2022 as U20 manager, then moved to the U23 side in 2025 and became senior manager in March after Walid Regragui resigned.
Regragui, a former Morocco right-back capped 44 times who played for Toulouse, Racing Santander and Dijon, took over shortly before the 2022 World Cup after Vahid Halilhodzic was dismissed following disagreements with the federation.
Regragui had previously managed only Moroccan club teams, but his Atlas Lions topped a group with Croatia and Belgium before beating Spain on penalties in the Round of 16 and Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals. Morocco’s run ended with a 2-0 semi-final loss to France, but the team became the first African and Arab side to reach a World Cup semi-final.
AFCON title followed controversy
Regragui’s final tournament was December Africa Cup of Nations, which Morocco hosted for the first time since 1988. The Atlas Lions went unbeaten through their group, then beat Tanzania, Cameroon and Nigeria on penalties to reach the final against Senegal.
In the eighth minute of stoppage time in that final, Morocco were awarded a penalty after a VAR review ruled that Brahim Diaz had been pulled back in the area by El Hadji Malick Diouf. Senegal left the pitch and went to the lockers, and unrest followed among Senegalese supporters, with some attempting to storm the pitch, others throwing objects and one group fighting with stewards and security.
Senegal later went ahead in extra time when Sadio Mane played Pape Guaye forward and Guaye struck a left-footed volley past Bono in the 94th minute. Senegal appeared to have won 1-0, but exactly two months after the Jan. 18 final, CAF invalidated the result and awarded Morocco a 3-0 forfeit victory.
The Confederation of African Football cited Article 82, which says a team that refuses to play or leaves the pitch without authorization before the final whistle is considered to have lost. Article 84 adds that a violation brings permanent expulsion from the tournament and a 3-0 forfeit defeat.
Regragui had already left before the CAF ruling. “The team needs a fresh face, a different energy, and a new perspective with a new coach,” he said at his farewell press conference. “I think the team needs a new lease of life before the World Cup, a new vision to continue progressing. My decision to leave is part of this team’s evolution.”
Ouahbi now has a Morocco squad with established players including Bono, Noussair Mazraoui and Sofyan Amrabat, along with younger names such as Saibari, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Chemsdine Talbi.
Atlas Lions beat Netherlands on penalties
Morocco reached the Canada match by beating the Netherlands on penalties in the Round of 16. After more than an hour of hard, physical play, Cody Gakpo gave the Oranje the lead after a move involving Wout Weghorst and Crysencio Summerville.
The Netherlands then protected the one-goal lead rather than chasing a second, and Ronald Koeman lost his job after the result. Issa Diop equalized with a stoppage-time header, and Bart Verbruggen later denied Soufiane Rahimi to keep the match level before penalties.
Neither team was sharp from the spot, but Morocco missed fewer. Justin Kluivert, Quentin Timber and Summerville failed to convert for the Oranje, before Saibari beat Verbruggen the wrong way to seal a 1-1 draw and 3-2 shootout win for the Atlas Lions.
Canada now meets a familiar opponent, but Morocco arrive as a different proposition from 2022: an AFCON champion, a World Cup semi-finalist and a squad no longer capable of surprising anyone by simply being good.