Canada takes on Morocco in knockout World Cup match

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Interesting contrast of anthem styles, there: the Canadians arm-in-arm with a spirited rendition of O Canada; the Moroccans, standing apart, hands on hearts, some with their heads bowed reverentially.

With that, we're underway. Allez!

The teams weren't on the pitch yet, but we'd already started the anthems.

It's July 4, if you haven't noticed, and because the match is in Houston the crowd was treated to a rather militaristic parade of the stars and stripes and a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. 

Happy birthday, U.S.A. Will there be cake at halftime?

Just a few minutes until kickoff.

Canada is undoubtedly going into this game as the underdog, but it has one big advantage: rest. 

It's been almost a week since their win over South Africa. Morocoo, meanwhile, has had one less day to rest up since their match against the Dutch — which went to extra time and penalties in the Mexican heat. 

The physical toll of those extra minutes on the pitch for Morocco could play a role today, particularly towards the end of the match.

The appeal behind Vancouver’s FIFA World Cup crowds

The appeal behind FIFA World Cup crowds

Over the past few weeks, thousands of people have waited in lines and packed into fan zones when they could have just watched World Cup games in the comfort of their own home. Why? 

According to Neil Armitage, a sociology lecturer at the University of British Columbia, the warm summer weather helps.

But events like the World Cup also tap into "the desire to collect and come together and be in something bigger than what we are individually," he said.

"If you turned up at a bar and there was no one in the bar, you and your friends would say, 'We can't stay here to watch the game. We need to go where people are,'" said Armitage, who has researched sports spectatorship.

Armitage links that feeling to the idea of collective effervescence, a term introduced by French sociologist Émile Durkheim to describe the shared energy and sense of unity people can feel when they gather for the same event or ritual. In other words, the crowd can make the game feel bigger.

The crowd also offers a break from the challenges of daily life.

"Our lives are so full of complexity and nuance," Armitage said. But, for 90 minutes (or more), "life becomes simple. It's just red versus blue or whatever it may be."

Read more.

Not everyone who attended the Canada march was Canadian.

I spoke to Dayna and Nikki Jones, two people who just moved to Houston from North Carolina. They told me they adopted Canada as their team for the World Cup.

"We like the camaraderie and the celebration and the O Canada, so we wanted to come down and celebrate," Nikki told me.

Canada vs. Morocco is the final 2026 World Cup game hosted in Houston. Dayna says it was "pretty cool and exciting" to see all the teams have fun with each other in the city.

"Being here and just seeing all of the countries come together, everybody's loving one another, it's just so cool, it's amazing," Nikki added. 

Hello! I'll be providing the play-by-play for today's match.

I was just at the Canadian fans' march to Houston Stadium and spoke to a lot of Canadians, both those who travelled from the Great White North and those based in Texas.

For many of them, especially the ones who've watched this team for decades, this is the biggest game in Canadian men's national team history. Hard to argue against that — Canada has never played in a men's World Cup Round of 16 before. 

Although most Canadians would have preferred this game to be played in Canada, Houston is a fantastic consolation as it has a massive population of expat Canadians.

I spoke to one Texas-based Canadian outside the venue, Naomi Mesbur-Beck, who said it's "incredible" to see so many people cheering for Canada in Houston. 

"It's just amazing to see the turnout," she told me. "I don't even have tickets for the game and I don't think half the people here do either. We're just here to support Canada."

"We're Canada. We show up for our country."

Redouane Halhal takes Chadi Riad's place in defence, but otherwise Morocco are unchanged from their penalty shootout win over the Netherlands.

Morocco will be playing something like a 4-2-3-1 formation, with arguably their biggest goal threat, Ismael Saibari, supported in attack by the trio of Bilal El Khannouss, Azzedine Ounahi and Brahim Díaz.

Still no start for Alphonso Davies, but we'll almost certainly see him come on again as a substitute — I'm guessing around the 60-minute mark.

It looks to me like Sigur has been brought in to give Canada some more defensive stability, while Ahmed should help provide a spark of creativity.

Midfielder Ismaël Koné, who was seen walking into Houston Stadium on crutches today, wrote a moving tribute to his team and the Canadian soccer community after his World Cup was cut short by a tackle that broke his leg during Canada's match against Qatar.

In the letter published in The Players Tribune yesterday, Koné says he's so proud of Canada's men for how far they've come in the tournament.

"I love how people are getting to see this version of Canada win on the world stage. We're fast. We're aggressive. We're strong. We're disciplined," he wrote.

"But most of all we're willing to do everything for this badge on our chest, I think because of the journey we each took to wear it … and because of what this country has given us in times when we've needed it most."

Kone said he felt "like I was letting the whole country down" after his leg was broken on the pitch in Vancouver. 

But he says the outpouring of support he's received from people across the county has carried him through. 

"Obviously I knew there'd be support, but the level has kind of shocked me a bit. It's moved me very deeply," he wrote. 

"And it's made me feel like I'm a small part of something very special that's happening right now."

The lineups are in! Canada makes three changes in its starting 11 from its win over South Africa.

Luc de Fougerolles returns to his starting place at the expense of Derek Cornelius, lining up alongside Moïse Bombito in central defence. 

Ali Ahmed has been favoured on the left wing in place of Liam Millar, while Niko Sigur slots in beside starting captain Stephen Eustáquio in midfield, with Nathan Saliba dropping to the bench.

Jonathan David and Tani Oluwaseyi lead Canada's attack once again.

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