Key events<\/p>\n
The teams are out! Both normally play in red shirts, so they\u2019re both in their second-choice garb today: Canada<\/a> in black, Morocco in white. The anthems all standing on guard for thee and heading for grandeur. Fair play to one and all. We\u2019ll be off in a couple of minutes!<\/p>\n The scene is set in Houston. Photograph: Eric Smith\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.58 EDT<\/p>\n Pre-match postbag. \u201cI\u2019m 100% confident that our boys will do it today and keep the Moroccan flag flying high. I\u2019m not so sure they can get past France if they do win today but who knows … anyway, great days for Moroccan football\u201d \u2013 Yac Semmar<\/p>\n \u201cMorocco makes me think back to a fellow named Mohammed who played occasionally in my beer-league ice hockey in Montreal (think pub team in football terminology), Mo was a talented player…. as it turns out he was once a member of the Moroccan national ice hockey team. I imagine he\u2019s taking in the match, perhaps conflicted on what side to support. A problem I don\u2019t have as the Azzurri didn\u2019t qualify, again. Forza Canadesi!\u201d \u2013 Domenic Boscariol<\/p>\n \u201cI agree the Canada<\/a> pennant is needlessly repetitive but compare that to name of the NFL team that plays at this stadium: Houston Texans. Houston is in Texas. Check. People in Texas are Texans. OK. All well and good, but come on! That is the best name they could come up with?\u201d \u2013 Peter Oh<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The prize on offer today is a quarter-final against either Paraguay or France. There\u2019s a cheap strikethrough gag begging to be made there, and goodness knows we\u2019re cheap and jaded enough to usually do it. But nobody\u2019s taking anything for granted after Argentina\u2019s scrape with disaster against the heroic and inspired Cape Verde. Here\u2019s how last night\u2019s instant-classic antics went down in Rotterdam, where six of the Blue Sharks were born.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.52 EDT<\/p>\n It\u2019s the big pennant showdown \u2026 and it\u2019s as good as a walkover for Morocco. Achraf Hakimi will hand over this uniquely shaped artefact that almost literally drips with beauty. The Arabic script translates as Royal Moroccan Football Federation, so there\u2019s no detail anywhere of today\u2019s fixture and opponent; unfortunately that\u2019s one point docked. However two bonus points are awarded for the sheer elegance of Arabic script. Total score: 11 out of 10.<\/p>\n \u0647\u062f\u064a\u0629 \u0631\u0627\u0626\u0639\u0629. Photograph: Ryan Pierse\/FIFA\/Getty Images<\/p>\n This however doesn\u2019t pass muster. Untidy tassels, and is there any need to be shouting CANADA? We know it\u2019s Canada<\/a>, the logo\u2019s told us that already. Total score: four out of 10 (FOUR OUT OF TEN).<\/p>\n Jerry Sadowitz will be pleased that none of it is in French.<\/a> Photograph: Ryan Pierse\/FIFA\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Morocco make one change to their starting XI from the game against the Netherlands. Redouane Halhal takes the place of Chadi Riad at centre-back. Riad picked up a knee injury in that last-32 match, but is on the bench nonetheless.<\/p>\n Redouane Halhal<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.54 EDT<\/p>\n Canada captain and star man Alphonso Davies, battling back \u200bfrom long-term injury, starts on the bench again, having come on to good effect against \u2060South Africa. Jesse Marsch makes three changes following that last-32 victory. Luc de Fougerolles and Niko Sigur come into a five-man defence, while Norwich City\u2019s Ali Ahmed augments the attack. Derek Cornelius, Liam Millar and Nathan Saliba step down.<\/p>\n Ali Ahmed<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.53 EDT<\/p>\n The teams<\/p>\n Canada: Crepeau, Johnston, De Fougerolles, Bombito, Laryea, Buchanan, Sigur, Stephen Eustaquio, Ahmed, Jonathan David, Oluwaseyi. Morocco: Bounou, Hakimi, Diop, Halhal, Mazraoui, Bouaddi, El Aynaoui, Diaz, Ounahi, El Khannous, Saibari. Referee: Michael Oliver (England).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Canada have played Morocco on four previous occasions. They\u2019ve yet to win. Three of those matches were friendlies: Morocco won 3-2 in 1984 and 4-0 in 2016, while the countries drew 1-1 in 1984. The only competitive fixture came in the last World Cup<\/a>, when Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri scored the goals that won Morocco their group and set them off on their journey to the semis.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Morocco were the best performers in Group C. But they didn\u2019t win it, because they failed to put Brazil away while in the ascendancy during a 1-1 draw<\/a>. It took they 70 seconds to see off Scotland<\/a>. And they toyed with ignominy against Haiti but eventually overpowered the underdogs 4-2<\/a>.<\/p>\n They were on the brink of going out in the Round of 16 against the Netherlands. Issa Diop rescued them with a stoppage-time header, and the Atlas Lions went on to win a topsy-turvy penalty contest.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Canada made it out of Group B easily enough. A 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina.<\/a> A six-goal rout of Qatar that was soured by a bad injury to Isma\u00ebl Kon\u00e9.<\/a> A 2-1 defeat to Switzerland that lost them home advantage.<\/a><\/p>\n Then in the round of 16 they ground out victory over South Africa. Stephen Eust\u00e1quio was their last-gasp hero.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here are the pre-tournament team guides, the view from the outset. Reread! Reacquaint! Reassess!<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Whatever happens to Canada now \u2013 within comedic\/catastrophic reason \u2013 this World Cup<\/a> will go down as an unqualified success. So far, they\u2019ve won their first match at a finals; they\u2019ve qualified from a group for the first time; and they\u2019ve won a knockout game at their very first attempt. Nobody\u2019s seriously expecting Jesse Marsch\u2019s team to win the whole darn thing, so the co-hosts will be approaching everything from here on in as a free hit. Any more success will\/should be considered an extremely pleasant bonus.<\/p>\n Morocco will be setting their sights a little higher. Four years ago, the Atlas Lions broke through all sorts of barriers: not only was their fourth-place finish their best at a World Cup by some distance, in doing so they became both the first African and Arab nation to reach the semi-final stage. Since then, they\u2019ve won (well, been awarded) the Africa Cup of Nations; in four years time, they\u2019ll co-host the World Cup. It\u2019s a banner period for them, and currently ranked sixth in the world \u2013 ahead of historical powerhouses Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, and only behind five previous World Cup champions \u2013 they\u2019ll see no reason why they can\u2019t go super-deep again.<\/p>\n Of course, one of the hot favourites in France would (probably) be next \u2026 and Canada<\/a> are perfectly capable of pulling of a shock as well. Super-deep is far from nailed-on for Morocco, and this game is by no means a gimme, so with its swirly mix of expectation, relaxation, likelihood and sort-of-home-crowd advantage, today\u2019s round-of-16 tie is almost perfectly set up for FUN. Let\u2019s hope it delivers; there\u2019s no reason on earth why it shouldn\u2019t. Kick off in Houston, Texas is at midday local time, 1pm EDT, 6pm BST and 3am AEST. It\u2019s on!<\/p>\n
Subs: St. Clair, Goodman, Jones, Waterman, Choiniere, Larin, Millar, Cornelius, Shaffelburg, Davies, Osorio, Promise David, Saliba, Nelson.<\/p>\n
Subs: Mohamedi, Tagnaouti, Amrabat, Saadane, Talbi, Rahimi, El Ouahdi, El Mourabet, Yassine, Sbai, Riad, Belammari, El Kaabi, Amaimouni-Echghouyab, Saleh-Eddine.<\/p>\n