Round of 16 · Houston Stadium, Houston, TX
Canada
MoroccoSaturday, July 4, 1:00 PM EDT · 📺 FOX / Telemundo
The feel-good co-hosts meet the kings of the knockout upset — and only one gets a shot at the quarterfinals.
Canada, a co-host, has never been this far — ever. Morocco is chasing a second straight deep run after their historic 2022 semifinal; the winner faces France or Paraguay in Boston on July 9.
Canada. The neighbors had never even won a World Cup game before this summer, their coach is American, and it's the Fourth of July weekend. (Morocco is the cool-kid pick if you want the 2022 Cinderella sequel.)
01Sound smart about this
- Canada had never even WON a World Cup game before this summer. Now they've survived their group and reached the Round of 16 on Stephen Eustáquio's 92nd-minute chest-and-volley winner against South Africa.
- Morocco just became the first African team to win knockout matches at back-to-back World Cups, dumping the Netherlands out on penalties — the earliest Dutch exit ever. The 2022 semifinal run was no fluke.
- Alphonso Davies is expected to make his first start of the tournament after coming back from injury, while midfielder Ismaël Koné is out with a broken ankle. Davies' fitness might be the whole game.
02Players to actually watchtap a line to copy
Canada's talisman has three goals this tournament — if Canada scores, it almost certainly runs through him.
Say this“If David gets one clean look in the box, he doesn't miss — he's basically been Canada's entire attack.”
Canada's biggest star is finally fit and expected to make his first start of the World Cup.
Say this“A healthy Davies completely changes Canada's ceiling — he's the fastest player on the field the second he steps on it.”
Scored in all three group games, buried the winning penalty against the Netherlands, and signed with Bayern Munich mid-tournament.
Say this“Saibari scored in every group game AND hit the winning pen against the Dutch — Bayern signed him before the tournament even ended.”
Morocco's star right back is their most dangerous attacking outlet, bombing forward from defense all tournament.
Say this“Watch Hakimi — he's listed as a defender but he'll spend half this game in Canada's penalty area.”
03Ask thistap to copy
Canada went into this tournament having never won a World Cup match in their history — now they're one win from a quarterfinal.
Morocco knocked the Netherlands out on penalties — the earliest the Dutch have ever gone home from a World Cup.
Canada's coach Jesse Marsch is American — an American leading Canada deep into a World Cup on the Fourth of July.
Saibari became just the second African player after Mo Salah to score in his first two World Cup matches.
Morocco went unbeaten in a group that included Brazil — they drew 1-1 with them in the opener.
04Opinions you can safely have
- Morocco's press is the whole game — if Canada can't play out from the back cleanly, this gets ugly fast.
- Morocco deserves favorite status, but a Houston crowd full of Canadians in red makes this way closer than the odds say.
- Eustáquio's stoppage-time winner against South Africa was one of the goals of the tournament and nobody's talking about it.
05Jargon of the match
When a team hunts the ball high up the field — expect Morocco's forwards to swarm Canada's defenders every time they try to pass out from their own goal, hoping to force a turnover in dangerous territory.
06The call
Morocco 2-1 — Saibari does Saibari things, but Canada makes it sweaty until the very last whistle.
Facts checked: 2026-07-03. Lineups drop ~1 hour before kickoff.