Canada — Morocco

Here's the paradox of NRG Stadium on this humid Houston evening: Canada finished with more xG than Morocco — 0.85 against 0.78 — yet left the tournament with a 0:3 scoreline. The numbers say one thing. The scoreboard says everything else. The first half belonged entirely to Morocco. Sixty-seven percent possession, suffocating structure, Canada pinned into their own half and managing just 33% of the ball. Yet somehow it stayed goalless at the break. Canada regrouped, flipped the second half on its head — 57% possession, eleven corners, genuine pressure — and still couldn't find the net. That single big chance they created and missed may be the defining image of their entire campaign. Azzedine Ounahi punished them for it. The midfielder threaded through on 50 minutes with ice-cold composure, then repeated the trick in the 82nd — a brace, a rating of 8.74, and all of it achieved while carrying a yellow card from the 45th minute. He reads space between the lines before defenders sense it's there. Morocco's backline, with Noussair Mazraoui imperious on the right, gave Canada's forwards almost nothing. Soufiane Rahimi, introduced as early as the 22nd minute, added the third in stoppage time to seal it. Canada's problems were concrete. Ten shots, three on target, one big chance — and they missed it. Stephen Eustaquio covered enormous ground in midfield and rated 7.67, the best Canadian performer, but the final ball was consistently absent. Twenty-four fouls committed tells its own story: a team that couldn't contain through shape fell back on contact. Morocco weren't flawless either. Three big chances, one missed. Their xG was actually lower than Canada's — fortune tilted their way at the critical moments, and they knew it. The Atlas Lions converted where it mattered; Canada didn't. That gap, razor-thin in quality but enormous on the scoreboard, is what round-of-16 football comes down to. On FootLegion, the goals your country scores at this World Cup stay yours forever — nobody takes those away. Now tell me: was Canada eliminated by Morocco's brilliance or their own wastefulness in front of goal? And does Ounahi's brace put him among the favourites for the Golden Ball?