Key events
Morocco were the best performers in Group C. But they didn’t win it, because they failed to put Brazil away while in the ascendancy during a 1-1 draw. It took they 70 seconds to see off Scotland. And they toyed with ignominy against Haiti but eventually overpowered the underdogs 4-2.
They were on the brink of going out in the Round of 16 against the Netherlands. Issa Diop rescued them with a stoppage-time header, and the Atlas Lions went on to win a topsy-turvy penalty contest.
Canada made it out of Group B easily enough. A 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina. A six-goal rout of Qatar that was soured by a bad injury to Ismaël Koné. A 2-1 defeat to Switzerland that lost them home advantage.
Then in the round of 16 they ground out victory over South Africa. Stephen Eustáquio was their last-gasp hero.
Here are the pre-tournament team guides, the view from the outset. Reread! Reacquaint! Reassess!
Preamble
Whatever happens to Canada now – within comedic/catastrophic reason – this World Cup will go down as an unqualified success. So far, they’ve won their first match at a finals; they’ve qualified from a group for the first time; and they’ve won a knockout game at their very first attempt. Nobody’s seriously expecting Jesse Marsch’s team to win the whole darn thing, so the co-hosts will be approaching everything from here on in as a free hit. Any more success will/should be considered an extremely pleasant bonus.
Morocco will be setting their sights a little higher. Four years ago, the Atlas Lions broke through all sorts of barriers: not only was their fourth-place finish their best at a World Cup by some distance, in doing so they became both the first African and Arab nation to reach the semi-final stage. Since then, they’ve won (well, been awarded) the Africa Cup of Nations; in four years time, they’ll co-host the World Cup. It’s a banner period for them, and currently ranked sixth in the world – ahead of historical powerhouses Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, and only behind five previous World Cup champions – they’ll see no reason why they can’t go super-deep again.
Of course, one of the hot favourites in France would (probably) be next … and Canada are perfectly capable of pulling of a shock as well. Super-deep is far from nailed-on for Morocco, and this game is by no means a gimme, so with its swirly mix of expectation, relaxation, likelihood and sort-of-home-crowd advantage, today’s round-of-16 tie is almost perfectly set up for FUN. Let’s hope it delivers; there’s no reason on earth why it shouldn’t. Kick off in Houston, Texas is at midday local time, 1pm EDT, 6pm BST and 3am AEST. It’s on!
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