With just days to go before Canada’s 2026 FIFA World Cup round-of-16 clash against Morocco, head coach Jesse Marsch acknowledged the scale of the challenge awaiting his side.
Impressed by the Atlas Lions’ performances since the start of the tournament, the American coach was full of praise for Mohamed Ouahbi’s team.
Speaking before Canada’s training session in Houston on Wednesday, Marsch admitted that preparing to face Morocco had been one of the toughest tasks his coaching staff had encountered. “Preparing for a match against Morocco is like living through a gory, horrible nightmare. It’s like, I don’t want to watch them play. They’re too good,” he was quoted as saying by USA Today.
Canada, who reached this stage of the competition for the first time in their history, booked their place in the round of 16 with a 1-0 victory over South Africa, thanks to a stoppage-time winner.
Morocco, meanwhile, secured qualification after edging the Netherlands in a dramatic encounter. The Atlas Lions prevailed 3-2 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
Despite the quality of the reigning African champions, Marsch insisted his side would embrace the challenge and believes his players are ready to fight for their place.
"We want to be here and we expect to be here. So we know that everybody’s going to write us off, and in that is an opportunity. But in the end, we are focused on trying to really be our best for this match and deliver the best performance of our lives, and that can give us a chance.”
Morocco and Canada will meet on Saturday, July 4, at NRG Stadium in Houston, with kick-off scheduled for 6 p.m. (Moroccan time). The winners will face either France or Paraguay in the quarter-finals.
