Canada’s World Cup campaign ended with goalkeeping calamity at Al Thumama Stadium on Thursday.
Morocco booked their spot in the knockout phase of the World Cup thanks to a 2-1 victory over Canada.
Hakim Ziyech punished poor Canadian defending to delicately chip home from 35 yards into an unguarded net for their opener, while Youssef En-Nesyri doubled their lead in the 23rd minute with a powerful finish.
Canada were the better of the two teams in the second half, and came close with Atiba Hutchinson’s header striking the bar and then the line — and they leave this World Cup with zero points but plenty of admirers for their performances and ambition.
Morroco’s lone strike came just before the half via an own goal from Naif Aguerd who deflected a Sam Adekugbe cross into the back of the net.
Les Rouges come away with no points at a World Cup for the second time in as many appearances, while Morocco are on top and see their way through to the knockout stage.
For Morocco, this win means they top Group F and equal their best finish at a World Cup, after the 1986 team reached the round of 16 in Mexico.
Canada manager John Herdman said after the game: “I’m proud. I’m proud of what these lads have shown here. You’re always going to walk away from this and it’s going to sting, but there isn’t a game that we’re not proud of.
“I think we competed in every match here. This is the first time we’ve been here in 36 years. There’s a qualitative gap at all levels and we’re trying to close that. That’s what we’ll be doing and that’s where we’ll go.
“We’ll keep learning as an organisation, as a coach and as a player group and we’ll be back stronger. We’ve got four years to build, but this is our first step into the big unknown.
“We found a lot of things out: that this team has quality, that we can compete and that we were close.”