Morocco suffered a major early setback in their World Cup 2026 last-16 tie against Canada in Houston on Saturday when top scorer Ismael Saibari had to be replaced through injury. Reigning Eredivisie player of the year Saibari, who scored once in each of the Atlas Lions group-stage games and converted the decisive penalty in their last-32 shootout against the Netherlands, showed his anguish after making way for Soufiane Rahimi in the 22nd minute.This is a real concern, former England striker Chris Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live of Moroccos plight without Saibari.Hes pulled his shirt over his head. It really doesnt look good for Morocco. Hes a tremendous athlete and has that finishing ability and physical presence.Table of ContentsMorocco vs Canada: World Cup co-hosts near-perfectWorld Cup 2026: Canada team vs MoroccoWorld Cup 2026: Morocco team vs CanadaWhere to watch Canada vs Morocco: TV channel, live online streamWorld Cup 2026: Canada vs Morocco statsMorocco vs Canada: World Cup co-hosts near-perfectSaibari joined Bayern Munich from PSV this week and the 25-year-olds injury will have deepened Mohamed Ouahbis concerns over his sides uncharacteristically poor start to the tie.Canada had almost all of the momentum during the first 40 minutes, testing Bono through Jonathan Davids shot before the goalkeeper denied Tani Oluwaseyi in a one-on-one.You have to take your chances, Sutton warned, calling underdogs Canada near-perfect. They had the big chance when Oluwaseyi went one-on-one.It was a lovely piece of skill and Bono made the save down to his left-hand side.You have to wonder: can Morocco continue being this bad? Theyre a little bit depleted now. Rahimi will try to make an impact up top.World Cup 2026: Canada team vs MoroccoJesse Marsch made three changes to his starting side from Canadas last-32 win over South Africa, bringing in Niko Sigur, Lucas De Fougerolles and Ali Ahmed.Derek Cornelius, Nathan Saliba and Liam Millar moved to the bench, with Alphonso Davies not yet fit to start as the captain continued his recovery from a hamstring injury.Canada starting XI: Maxime Crepeau, Alistair Johnston, Luc De Fougerolles, Moise Bombito, Richie Laryea, Tajon Buchanan, Niko Sigur, Stephen Eustaquio, Ali Ahmed, Jonathan David, Tani OluwaseyiCanada Substitutes: Dayne St. Clair, Alfie Jones, Joel Waterman, Mathieu Choiniere, Cyle Larin, Liam Millar, Derek Cornelius, Jacob Shaffelburg, Owen Goodman, Alphonso Davies, Jonathan Osorio, Promise David, Nathan Saliba, Jayden NelsonWorld Cup 2026: Morocco team vs CanadaMorocco boss Mohamed Ouahbi made a change in defence, introducing Redouane Halhal for Chadi Riad, who has a knee injury.Morocco starting XI: Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Redouane Halhal, Noussair Mazraoui, Brahim Diaz, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Azzedine Ounahi, Neil El Aynaoui, Bilal El Khannouss, Ismael SaibariMorocco substitutes: Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, Sofyan Amrabat, Marwane Saadane, Chemsdine Talbi, Soufiane Rahimi, Munir El Kajoui, Zakaria El Ouahdi, Samir El Mourabet, Gessime Yassine, Amine Sbai, Chadi Riad, Youssef Belammari, Ayoub El Kaabi, Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab, Anass Salah-EddineWhere to watch Canada vs Morocco: TV channel, live online streamKick-off on Saturday was at 18:00 BST (13:00 ET / 11:00 PT). In the UK, live TV coverage is on ITV1.Streaming is via ITVs website and ITVX app, which is available on a vast variety of devices for viewing on the go.World Cup 2026: Canada vs Morocco statsCanada are appearing in the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time in their history and have scored in six consecutive matches across all competitionsJesse Marschs side recorded 100 final-third pressures in the first half against South Africa, which was the highest figure in a World Cup match since detailed data collection began in 2010Marsch is aiming to become the first American manager to progress from more than one knockout tie at the World Cup, as well as the first to win three games in the competitionThis is Canadas fifth meeting with Morocco in all competitions, going winless across each of the previous four (D1 L3)They have only faced Scotland (6) and Iceland (5) more times in their history without ever winningExcluding finals and play-off matches for third place, Morocco have progressed from six of their last eight knockout ties at major tournaments (World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations), advancing via a penalty shootout in three of thoseMorocco are unbeaten in their last nine matches in all competitions and have progressed from consecutive World Cup group stages for the first timeThey completed 801 passes against the Netherlands in the previous round, becoming only the second team after Spain to exceed 800 passes in a World Cup match since modern data tracking beganThe Atlas Lions have never lost to Canada in senior mens international football and won the fixture 2-1 at the 2022 World CupThat win was their first-ever meeting with a CONCACAF nation at the World Cup, proceeding to beat Haiti 4-2 during this years group stage Topics 2026 FIFA World Cup Canada men's national soccer team FIFA World Cup Morocco National Football Team World Cup World Cup 2026 Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read LIVE Canada v Morocco: World Cup 2026 text commentary, updates, goals and stats as co-hosts dominate first half Jon Fisher 4th July, 2026 Canada v Morocco: Confirmed line-ups for World Cup round-of-16 clash Jon Fisher 4th July, 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026: Full France fixtures, results, schedule, confirmed squad, next match, kick off times Ben Miller 4th July, 2026 Kylian Mbappe: World Cup 2026 playing schedule, fixtures, kick off times, where to watch, confirmed news updates and full France squad Ben Miller 4th July, 2026 England vs Mexico: World Cup 2026 confirmed time and full details after talks over game being moved, latest news and why football bosses wanted fixture kick off rescheduled to Sunday Ben Miller 4th July, 2026 Canada v Morocco: Predicted line-ups, stats and preview for World Cup last-16 clash Mitch Fretton 4th July, 2026
