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RIYADH: When Ismael Saibari clutched the back of his right thigh just 22 minutes into Morocco’s FIFA World Cup round of 16 clash against Canada, alarm bells started ringing. In a tournament where the Atlas Lions’ glaring weakness had been converting golden chances, losing their top scorer was the last thing they needed.
HOUSTON: The end result was as expected, but for 45 minutes the performance was not. After a quintessential game of two halves, Morocco became the first African team in history to twice reach the World Cup quarterfinals, yet it was not the easy game against Canada that many fans anticipated. When the final whistle went, two-goal hero Azzedine Ounahi said he “felt like crying” after helping to give his country the celebrations its people were expecting.
PHILADELPHIA: Kylian Mbappe converted from the spot for his 19th World Cup goal and seventh of this tournament as France outlasted Paraguay to reach the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory on Saturday in a steamy round of 16 encounter. With the penalty, earned by substitute Desire Doue’s slaloming run into the area, Mbappe scored in the 70th minute to pull even with Argentina’s Lionel Messi atop the 2026 Golden Boot leaderboard and move within one of the 39-year-old for the all-time World Cup goals lead. It was all Les Bleus needed against a resilient but limited Albirroja side, who defended admirably in sweltering conditions with temperatures nearing 100 Fahrenheit while offering little going forward. France advance to meet Morocco next Thursday in Foxborough, Mass., in a rematch of the 2022 semifinal that ended in a 2-0 French victory. Paraguay shocked Germany on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the round of 32 on Monday, a result that inspired president Santiago Pena to declare Tuesday a national holiday. But the Albirroja still exited a round shy of their all-time best quarterfinal finish in 2010, which doubled as their last World Cup finals appearance. The South Americans frustrated the two-time World Champions throughout the first half and well into the second, aided in part by the card-shy approach of Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev.
EAST RUTHERFORD: Erling Haaland has feasted on defenses throughout the World Cup, and Norway will need their talismanic striker at his ruthless best if they are to topple Brazil in Sunday’s last-16 clash.
SEATLE, USA: Belgium winger Jeremy Doku deserves more support at the World Cup if he is going to prove decisive for his country, teammate Dodi Lukebakio said on Saturday. Doku had been touted as a potential talisman for Belgium before the tournament but has been largely ineffective despite their progress to the last 16, where they will meet co-hosts the United States in Seattle on Monday. The 24-year-old Doku was taken off in the last game against Senegal, along with Kevin De Bruyne, when the side were 2-0 down to Senegal and the change helped spark an improbable comeback with Belgium triumphing 3-2 in the last minute of extra time. “Jeremy is like a brother to me. It’s understandable that things have been difficult for him so far,” Lukebakio told a press conference at the training base. “He became a father, and he was also very ill.
HOUSTON: Morocco produced a patient and professional performance to sweep past World Cup co-hosts Canada 3-0 in their round-of-16 clash on Saturday.
KANSAS CITY: Africa set a record by sending nine of its teams to the knockout rounds of the World Cup. Seven of them were knocked out in the first round. Ghana were the last African team to play in the Round of 32 on Friday night, and the white-clad Black Stars went down with a whimper in a 1-0 loss to Colombia.
TEXAS, USA: Zlatan Ibrahimovic showed his warmer side by sending words of encouragement to Australian teenager Lucas Herrington after his penalty miss against Egypt in the World Cup round-of-32 shootout. The 18-year-old center back struck the crossbar with Australia’s fourth spot-kick, leaving Hossam Abdelmaguid with the opportunity to seal victory for Egypt, which he duly did. Harry Souttar also missed for Australia. Australia lost 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw following extra time on Friday, extending their wait for a first knockout-round victory at the showpiece tournament. “Penalty is like lottery. You score, you become a hero, you don’t score, sadly you become zero,” Sweden great Ibrahimovic said on Fox, where he is working as a World Cup analyst. “I just want to reach out to Herrington. You’re 18-years-old, you’re young, this is just the beginning of your career. “You stepping up there, you showed a lot of courage, not everybody will do that.