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Morocco wins a historic eighth

Morocco wins a historic eighth.

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Morocco wins a historic eighth

Morocco wins a historic eighth

The 'Lions of the Atlas' advance as group leaders after a hard-fought victory against a Canada that is left without its consolation prize

   MADRID, 1 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Moroccan team beat Canada (1-2) this Thursday with goals from Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri in a hard-fought victory that allowed them to advance to the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar 36 years later, also as first group with seven points, after the draw (0-0) between Croatia and Belgium in the other Group G match.

The 'Lions of the Atlas' found themselves with a 'gift' in the form of an error by the Canadian goalkeeper to open the can and put this important victory on track. This goal gave confidence to a Morocco that once again took advantage of the defensive fragility of its rival to score the second. A disorganized Canada in the first half ultimately lost their first World Cup point, though her goal before the break set them up for a goalless second half.

In view of the importance of the match for the 'Atlas Lions', they entered more concentrated and confident where their options were. However, with no time for scoring minutes, Canada 'gave' the first step towards the round of 16 to Morocco, who took the lead with a goal from Ziyech. The talented Chelsea winger took advantage of this free ball after a mistake by Canadian goalkeeper Borjan to subtly flick the ball over the top and lead the way to the next round.

It was difficult for Canada to come out with guarantees, however, before the equator of the first half, they had the equalizer in Buchanan's boots, after a demonstration of power by Kaye of more than 25 meters, overcoming lines to assist the North American winger without luck . The match followed the expected path, with a more withdrawn 'Maple Leaf' team and leaving the ball to the Africans, who struck again taking advantage of the North American defensive weakness.

The Sevilla striker ran unopposed to collect a rained and long send from Achraf Hakimi to finish off placed and make it 2-0, becoming the first Moroccan player to score in two World Cups. The 'Atlas Lions' made many merits and gave the necessary arguments to see a historic round of 16 closer.

However, a somewhat disorderly Canada and far from making a choral performance, they found themselves at 1-2 with great luck, to get hooked on the game again. Adekugbe starred in the first dangerous attack on the left with a good cut and his low cross hit Aguerd, which caught Bono out of position and the ball dragged into the back of the net. Morocco conceded their first goal in Qatar.

Although the Canadians somewhat forgot their complexes, the Moroccan mallet struck again. This time it was with a lateral free kick by the talented winger Ziyech, which En-Nesyri finished off after a rebound close to the post, but the referee canceled the goal due to a positional offside by the center-back Aguerd, which prevented Borjan from seeing.

The rest was good for Canada, which improved somewhat, with a better organization and a more compact system, against a more contemplative Morocco and with a slower pace. Alphonso Davies was the protagonist of an isolated Canadian occasion, in the beginning of the second stake on neutral ground and without a clear dominator.

After a period of few meaningful combinations and no control by either team, Canada was able to equalize on a corner kick after 70 minutes that Hutchinson headed off the crossbar, after which the ball was spit out after bouncing over the line. It was the clearest opportunity for a Canada that grew, in the most vertical version of it to enjoy the best moment of it in the match.

The 'Atlas Lions' began to play with the result in their favor and the passage of time, in addition to noticing a physical wear and tear that Walid Regragui noticed and moved the bench. Hamdallah was able to complete a transition led by the incombustible Amrabat, but he lingered too long on the ball.

--RESULT: CANADA, 1 - MOROCCO, 2 (1-2, at halftime).

CANADA: Borjan; Buchanan, Johnston, Miller, Vitória, Adekugbe (Kone, min.61); Kaye (Hutchinson, min.60), Osorio (Laryea, min.65), Davies; Larin (David, min.60), Hoilett (Wotherspoon, min.76).

MARRUECOS: Bono; Achraf (Jabrane, min. 85), Aguerd, Saiss, Mazraoui; S. Amrabat, Ounahi (El Yamiq, min. 77), Sabiri (Amallah, min. 65); Ziyech (Hamdallah, min. 76) Boufal (Aboukhlal, min. 65); En-Nesyri.

0-1, min. 4: Ziyech.

0-2, min.23: En-Nesyri.

1-2, min.40: Aguerd, own goal.

--REFEREE: Raphael Claus (BRA). He admonished Hoilett (min.7), Osorio (min.26), Adekugbe (min.47) and Vitoria (min.85) in Canada.

--STADIUM: Al Thumama Stadium. 43,102 viewers.

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