Morocco Thrashes Host Canada 3–0; France Edges Paraguay on Mbappé Penalty in World Cup Round of 16

Saturday was the opening day of the World Cup 2026 Round of 16, and it delivered two very different kinds of soccer stories — one dominant, one grinding — but both with the same bottom line: Morocco and France are heading to the quarterfinals.

Game 1: Morocco 3, Canada 0 — Houston

If you were rooting for one of the three host nations, Saturday stung. Morocco defeated World Cup co-host Canada in Houston to seal a ticket to the quarterfinals. And it wasn't all that close in the end, even if it took a while to get there.

Despite star Alphonso Davies starting the match on the bench, Canada began the game brightly, pressing Morocco very successfully and threatening its goal frequently throughout the first quarter of the match. Canada's Tani Oluwaseyi had a great chance to take an early lead in the 11th minute after Les Rouges forced a turnover through a high press and the Villarreal forward produced a great turn to go through on goal, but his shot was fantastically saved by Morocco's Yassine Bounou.

Then the wheels came off for Canada — quietly at first, then all at once. Making matters worse for the Atlas Lions' opponent, star midfielder Ismael Saibari — who recently signed a deal to join Bayern Munich — left the pitch injured in the 23rd minute with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Despite that setback for Morocco, it was Canada who ultimately fell apart in the second half.

Morocco took the lead five minutes into the second half after a nicely worked free-kick routine ended with Achraf Hakimi pulling the ball back to Ounahi on the edge of the box, for the attacking midfielder to sweep it home. Ounahi put the game beyond any reasonable doubt in the 82nd minute, after Brahim Díaz led a counter-attack and put the ball on a plate for him. In the eighth minute of added time, Rahimi added to Morocco's celebrations with a simple finish to give Morocco a third.

The stat that tells the whole story? Morocco's xG (expected goals — basically, a measure of how likely your shots were to go in) was just 0.85 compared to Canada's 0.78, and the North African side won despite having just five shots — the fewest by a winning team in World Cup knockout rounds since records began in 1966. Clinical doesn't begin to cover it. For the second time in their history, Morocco reached the quarterfinals, courtesy of Azzedine Ounahi's double and a clever finish from Soufiane Rahimi.

Canada became the first co-host to go out at this year's edition, with their journey coming to a halt in the last 16. Still, Canada will reflect fondly on a historic tournament that saw them win their first-ever World Cup knockout-round game.

Game 2: France 1, Paraguay 0 — Philadelphia

This one was set in sweltering conditions — the temperature was sitting at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit at Lincoln Financial Field when the ball was kicked off. That heat probably explains a lot about how the match played out: slow, tactical, and at times downright frustrating to watch.

France, the favorite to win the World Cup, faced Paraguay in the afternoon game and Kylian Mbappé retook the Golden Boot lead with a penalty kick in the 70th minute that ended up being the difference in a chippy game. Mbappé drilled the penalty home into the bottom corner for his seventh goal of the tournament, drawing level at the top of the Golden Boot race with Lionel Messi.

Paraguay — the team that already shocked Germany in the previous round — was no pushover. Paraguay played a brusque style of physical soccer, which at times flirted with unsportsmanlike play. Several injuries to Paraguay, including defender Omar Alderete, Julio Enciso, and Miguel Almiron, killed all the momentum the Paraguayans had in the second half, though, and France managed to close things out.

France made the quarterfinals of the World Cup for a fourth consecutive time, continuing to stay alive in their bid to make a third consecutive final.

What's next?

France will play Morocco in Boston on July 9. That's your marquee quarterfinal matchup — the tournament favorite versus the tournament's biggest cinderella story. If you only watch one game this World Cup, that might be the one.