Canada vs. Morocco: Fans hope for another historic win in high

Canadian fans at home and around the world will cheer on the men’s soccer team as they take on their toughest opponent yet: Morocco.

The loser of today’s match will be eliminated from the tournament, while the winner moves on to the quarter-finals to face either Paraguay or France.

Canadian players warm up on the field

Canada has taken the field at Houston Stadium for warmups ahead of their round-of-16 matchup against Morocco. Audible cheers came from fans in the stands wrapped in large Maple Leaf flags, and players clapped in appreciation as they ran out.

Recapping how Canada has performed in the World Cup so far

After a historic underdog win over South Africa, Canada is only four wins away from the World Cup title and set to face Morocco in less than an hour at the Houston stadium.

Here’s a recap of how the team has done so far:

Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegonia

In many ways, a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina felt like a victory for Canada on a historic day for the host side at the FIFA World Cup on on Friday, June 12

It was the first Canadian goal scored on home soil in this tournament and the first point for the country in seven all-time World Cup games.

Canada earned its first-ever victory at the men’s World Cup with a 6-0 win over Qatar Thursday, June 18. Thousands of fans inside Vancouver’s BC Place became a sea of red, cheering on the home team as forward Jonathan David recorded a hat trick, the first recorded by a CONCACAF player at the World Cup in nearly 100 years.

This game marked the team’s first loss, at 2-1, to an opponent that came into the tournament in the top 20 of FIFA’s world rankings on Wednesday, June 24.

Switzerland took the top spot in Group B and Canada finished as the runner-up, advancing to the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever.

Canada made history on Sunday, June 28 with a 1-0 win over South Africa, after central midfielder Stephen Eustaquio scored the match’s only goal in the second-half stoppage time. The dramatic victory sent Canada to Round 16 for the first time ever.

Check out what the fans are wearing in Houston

Fifty minutes before kickoff, Canadian fans are ready and waiting at the stadium in Houston, armed in red and white, with posters and flags to show their support for the team.

Check out what the fans are wearing here:

No voice? no problem for this Toronto fan

If enthusiasm alone decided the outcome, Osman Khan would have already done his part.CTV News Toronto’s Sean Leathong caught up with Khan, who was first in line outside of Toronto’s fan festival and arrived at 8: 45 a.m. ET. Khan said he has just about lost his voice after cheering throughout the entire World Cup, but that didn’t stop him from showing up early once again, dressed in his Team Canada shirt and prepared for the forecast with a poncho.

For supporters like Khan, today’s knockout match is worth every sore throat, as fans hope Canada’s World Cup run continues.

Sean Leathong, CTV News Toronto journalist

Early, long lines at Toronto’s Fan Fest

The excitement is already building hours before kickoff.CTV News Toronto’s Sean Leathong reports long lines of Canada supporters stretching down Fort York Boulevard, with fans arriving nearly two hours before Canada’s Round of 16 match against Morocco. Many are hoping to secure a spot inside the official FIFA Fan Festival which the city has said is subject to capacity and will operate on a “first come” basis throughout the tournament.

Canadian coach Jesse Marsch said his young team is excited and looking forward to playing a “big” opponent today. And the players are promising to leave it all on the field in trying to pull off one of the biggest upsets yet.

On paper, today’s Canada versus Morocco Round of 16 showdown at the FIFA World Cup is a mismatch, a minnow versus a shark, or soccer’s version of David and Goliath.

Morocco, the sixth-ranked team in the world that made it to the tournament’s final four in 2022, is heavily favoured to eliminate the Canadian overachievers, who have recorded a number of impressive firsts at this World Cup — first goal, first win, first appearance in a knockout game, and first appearance in the Round of 16.

But while Canada has already eliminated one African nation — 1-0 knockout stage victory over South Africa last Sunday in Los Angeles — another one stands in the way of an appearance in the quarterfinals.

“We know that everybody’s going to write us off,” said Canadian coach Jesse Marsch. “But … we are focused on trying to really be our best for this match and deliver the best performance of our lives.”

The Canadian crew also pointed out that Morocco used a lot of energy in getting past the Netherlands on Monday, winning 3-2 on penalties after playing 30 minutes of extra time.

Jesse Marsch has been forced into many of his lineup decisions at the FIFA World Cup due to injuries, but the Canada head coach has consistently tinkered with the top of his formation by choice.

While Canada has sent out two strikers to start each of their four matches, Tani Oluwaseyi and Cyle Larin have both seen starts beside Jonathan David, while Promise David has made his impact felt as a substitute.

It remains unclear who will get the start in Saturday’s historic Round of 16 clash against Morocco as Canada looks to upset the 2022 semifinalists.

Marsch caught many off guard when he elected to start Oluwaseyi over Larin in Canada’s opening match of the tournament. It was the veteran Larin, though, that entered off the match and scored to secure a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada’s first-ever World Cup point.

TSN.ca staff. Read the full story here.

Canada to host final game next week

Toronto hosted its last World Cup match on Thursday, and Vancouver is set to wrap up its stint next Tuesday.

Fans in both cities can still attend the FIFA Fan Festival, which will continue to broadcast games until the end of the World Cup.

Jhon Arias scored the lone goal in the 14th minute and Colombia earned a spot in the World Cup’s round of 16 with a 1-0 victory over Ghana on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.

Arias’ goal held up as the Colombian defense didn’t allow Ghana to get a single shot on goal against goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.

Colombia will face Switzerland in the round of 16 on Tuesday in Vancouver.

Colombia didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but they did reach the round of 16 in 2018 and the quarterfinals in 2014.

Lawrence Ati Zigi was stellar in goal with seven saves for Ghana.

Colombia had a 20-8 edge in shots and placed eight on target.

Argentina survives tough battle against Cape Verde

Cape Verde, with a population of just over 500,000, rocked Lionel Messi’s Argentina with two stunning equalizers to raise the prospect of pulling off the greatest upset in World Cup history at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday.

But a Diney Borges own goal, under pressure from Argentina’s Cristian Romero, in the 111th minute finally broke Cape Verde’s resistance.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said losing to Cape Verde “would have been madness.”

It was “a very tough match; you always have to take the positives – this team (Argentina) never gives up,” Scaloni said.

“We have to congratulate the opponent; when people say there are no easy opponents, they proved today that they are a great team,” he added.

Argentina, who are bidding to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil in 1962, will play Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta for a place in the quarterfinals.

England, Mexico face off Sunday

England’s World Cup last-16 match against Mexico will kick off at its originally scheduled time on Sunday following discussions over possibly bringing the start of the game forward due to storms, a source close to the arrangements said Friday.

Reports in Britain and Mexico said earlier Friday that FIFA was planning to move the kick-off at the Estadio Azteca from 6:00pm local time to midday due to concerns over forecast storms and flooding in Mexico City on Sunday.

However a source with knowledge of the FIFA discussions said Friday that the game would start at its original time, emphasising that “no decision was ever made to reschedule KO time.”

When asked about the potential change in kick-off, England forward Marcus Rashford said at training on Friday it would not be “ideal” but that players would take it in their stride.

“How we prepare for the game, it has to remain the same. We have to be focused, we have to be ready for anything,” Rashford said.