Morocco and France Advance to World Cup 2026 Quarterfinals with Key Wins

The Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup began overnight with Morocco and France securing their spots in the quarterfinals. Morocco continued their impressive run by defeating Canada 3-0, while France edged Paraguay 1-0 in a tightly contested match.

Morocco, semifinalists in the previous World Cup, maintained their strong form. After eliminating the Netherlands on penalties in the previous round, they convincingly beat Canada with two goals from Azeddine Ounahi in the 50th and 82nd minutes and a stoppage-time goal by Sofiane Rahimi. Brahim Diaz assisted two goals, becoming the first African player to provide four assists in a single World Cup tournament. Despite losing their top scorer Ismail Saibari to injury in the first half, Morocco controlled the game and advanced comfortably.

In the other match, France faced a resilient Paraguay team that had previously knocked out Germany. After a goalless first half, France was awarded a penalty following a lengthy VAR review. Kylian Mbappe converted the spot-kick in the 86th minute, securing the win. This goal marked Mbappe's seventh in the tournament, tying him with Lionel Messi as the top scorer of the 2026 World Cup. Mbappe now has 19 World Cup goals in total, just one behind Messi's all-time record.

With these results, Morocco and France join the other quarterfinalists, setting the stage for the next phase of the tournament.