Azzedine Ounahi’s second-half brace helped Morocco overcome a tepid start for a 3-0 victory over Canada in Houston on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals for a second straight World Cup.

Morocco, unbeaten in 34 matches, plays June 9 in Boston against the winner of the France-Paraguay match from later Saturday.

Ounahi gave Morocco the lead in the 50th minute and added another in the 82nd minute on a breakout before Soufiane Rahimi scored against a pressing Canada in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Canada’s dream run ended after failing to take advantage of early domination. They had never before this year advanced out of the group stage, but did so and won their first knockout match, 1-0 against South Africa in the round of 32.

Morocco is No. 6 in the FIFA world rankings; Canada 30th.

There were four yellow cards apiece and Canada had 24 fouls to 14 for Morocco.

After a listless first half, Morocco stunned Canada with a goal from nowhere on only their second shot of the match.

Achraf Hakimi lined up for a free kick to the right of the goal after a yellow card, the seventh of the match, to Canada’s Luc de Fougerolles for a sloppy foul on Soufiane Rahimi.

Hakimi put the ball on the ground to Ounahi on the edge of the box and he one-timed a shot to the right corner with the Canadians caught a step behind.

In the 77th minute, Canada’s Jonathan David sent a free kick from outside the box over the bar and a minute later, teammate Tajon Buchanan’s long strike forced a diving stop at the left post by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

That proved crucial when Ounahi took a layoff pass from Brahim Diaz to make it 2-0.

Morocco suffered a major blow in the 22nd minute when leading scorer Ismael Saibari had to leave with a possible hamstring injury. The 25-year-old attacking midfielder scored in all three group matches and on Wednesday it was announced he was joining Germany’s Bayern Munich from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.

Canada looked nothing like a nervous team in their first round of 16 going against a 2022 World Cup semifinalist.

As is the style of American-born coach Jesse Marsch, the Canadians were on the attack from the start. Within five minutes, Bounou made a close-range save on David and followed soon after with a punch of a Stephen Eustaquio corner, but he made his best stop in the 12th after Canada’s pressure resulted in a giveaway.

Tani Oluwaseyi got the ball at the top of the box, made a sharp turn then fired a low shot that required Bounou to make the save with his outstretched left leg.

By the hydration break, Canada had all four shots, two on target, in the match.

–Field Level Media

After four deaths were tied to celebrations surrounding Mexico’s round of 32 victory in the World Cup on Tuesday, government officials have moved to reduce crowds at the city’s watch parties and double security in advance of Sunday’s round of 16 match against England.

Mexico’s 2-0 victory against Ecuador at Mexico City this week was the country’s first win in a knockout-round match since 1986.

Large crowds have gathered to watch matches near Mexico City’s “Angel of Independence” monument, including Tuesday when four people died from either asphyxiation or cardiac arrest.

As an investigation into the deaths is ongoing, Mexico City mayor Clara Brugada announced that the crowd near the monument will be restricted to 25,000 people on Sunday. More gathering spots with video screens will be set up in the area.

A similar procedure will be in place at Mexico City’s main square. There will be more than 50 designated viewing areas in the city.

A victory on Sunday would put Mexico into the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they have been just twice before in both 1970 and 1986. In both years, the team was playing on home soil, but were eliminated before reaching the semifinals.

–Field Level Media

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will look to defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the second time on the young season when the teams square off Sunday night in Hamilton, Ontario.

The Blue Bombers (1-2) only can hope Bo Levi Mitchell is a bit rusty after Hamilton’s bye. The veteran has completed 34 of 42 passes for 572 yards with eight touchdowns and zero interceptions over his last two games, including a 287-yard, three-score effort in Hamilton’s 37-27 win at Winnipeg on June 11.

Mitchell’s five-touchdown performance in a 41-27 win over the BC Lions on June 19 helped the Tiger-Cats (2-1) head into their bye with some momentum.

“That’s huge,” Mitchell said. “It was really important. We always talk about having a hot start to the year, but we never play at home early in the year. I was disappointed in us not getting the job done in front of our fans in Week 1, but really proud of us coming out and playing that way (versus the Lions). It’s how we always need to play for them.”

Tiger-Cats star receiver Kenny Lawler has yet to find the end zone in three games against his former team. The two-time Grey Cup champion had two catches for 17 yards in last month’s encounter with the Blue Bombers.

Hamilton will face a tall task in slowing down Zach Collaros, who threw for 421 yards in the first meeting with the Tiger-Cats.

Winnipeg, however, limps into Sunday’s encounter on a two-game losing skid. The Blue Bombers dropped a mistake-filled 23-18 decision to the Edmonton Elks last week.

“This one’s extremely important,” receiver Nic Demski said of Sunday’s game, per the Winnipeg Free Press. “We’ve got to get back into a groove and get back into the win column.”

Tim White has reeled in two touchdown passes this season, and he admitted he’d be pretty amped if he scored against the team with which he spent his first five CFL campaigns.

“When I score, I’ll be pretty turnt up,” White said, per the Winnipeg Free Press. “It’ll definitely be an exciting time. I’m just ready to step out there with the team.”

–Field Level Media