Canada trails Morocco 2-0 in critical World Cup knockout match

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Some Canadians may have thought Michael Oliver had awarded Les Rouges a penalty when Eustáquio was brought down in the Moroccan box. But the English referee pointed to a free kick.

That's because he judged the foul to have started outside of the box, not within it. Talk about a game of inches!

The free kick was still in a very dangerous area and Jonathan David just missed striking the crossbar. 

Yeah, this referee is very card-happy, Mouhamad. Not a booking for me. Canada has now drawn level on yellow cards, at least: it's 4-4.

Larin didn't take long to have an impact on the match. Unfortunately for Canada, it was with a yellow card.

The Canadian challenged for the ball just before Bounou kicked it away, prompting Oliver to show the mark of caution to him.

Maybe it was the replay the TV showed though, but it didn't look like there was much contact in that challenge. Quite harsh, if you ask me.

The dynamic of the match has changed, with the Moroccans now happy to sit back, knowing they are more than capable of punishing the Canadians on the counter.

Canada needs someone to unlock the Moroccan defence. Larin was that someone against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Can he do it again?

Tajon Buchanan had a strong case for a penalty after getting pushed down in the Moroccan box — had it not been called for offside. What a letup for Morocco because that looked stonewall to me.

Both teams have since made some substitutions. Cyle Larin is on for Tani Oluwaseyi, while a Moroccan double change sees Sofyan Amrabat and Chemsdine Talbi come on for Ayyoub Bouaddi and Bilal El Khannouss.

That one was straight off the training ground: the free kick pulled back to the edge of the box and Ounahi with a clean, precise strike. Crépeau was at full stretch and couldn't reach it.

That's a bitter blow for Canada.

Despite Canada's first half dominance, it's Morocco that strikes first off of a set-piece routine.

Azzedine Ounahi guides a low, long-range shot to Maxime Crépeau's left, finding nothing but net moments after Luc de Fougerolles was shown a yellow card.

We're back underway in Houston, as Morocco gets things started. 

We've had six yellow cards in this match already, four for Morocco and two for Canada. That speaks to the physical nature of the game, but it's also not unusual for games that Michael Oliver referees.

The average number of yellows he dishes out per game is over four. In the European section of World Cup qualifying matches, it was closer to five.

Six players in this match are already on a warning and will have to be careful for the remainder — which could be difficult if the second half maintains the intensity of the first.

Meanwhile, in a rural community in Nova Scotia, dozens of people are facing the heat in a concrete parking lot to watch their very own Jacob Shaffelburg. 

Many here know Shaffelburg, a substitute today who's from Port Williams, N.S. 

His grandparents showed up as well, and while they did not stay the whole time, they said they are excited to see their grandson on the world's largest soccer stage.

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