HOUSTON (AP) \u2014 Morocco is heading back to the quarterfinals and coach Mohamed Ouahbi believes his team has established itself among soccer\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n
Azzedine Ounahi scored twice to lead Morocco to a 3-0 win over Canada in the World Cup<\/a> round of 16 Saturday to make the country the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals more than once.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are no longer a surprise,\u201d Ouahbi said through a translator. \u201cNow when people talk about Morocco we\u2019re a major contender and it\u2019s a great source of pride. I think it\u2019s only the beginning and I hope we continue to have runs like this.\u201d<\/p>\n And despite already making history in this World Cup, Morocco has much higher goals.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to keep going,\u201d Ouahbi said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to stop.\u201d <\/p>\n It\u2019s Morocco\u2019s second straight appearance in the round of eight after becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are so proud to represent Africa because it\u2019s a continent with a lot of talent and Africa deserves to be in the best level in football,\u201d Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou said. <\/p>\n Neither team was able to break through until Ounahi took a free kick from Achraf Hakimi and made a right-footed shot through traffic from outside the box to the bottom right corner to put Morocco on top 1-0 in the 50th minute.<\/p>\n Ounahi made it 2-0 on a right-footed shot from the middle of the box off a pass from Brahim D\u00edaz in the 82nd minute.<\/p>\n Soufiane Rahimi added a goal in the final minute of stoppage time. <\/p>\n Morocco advances to face the winner of Saturday\u2019s Paraguay-France match on Thursday at Boston Stadium.<\/p>\n The loss ends a historic run for World Cup co-host Canada, which won its first-ever knockout round with a 1-0 victory over South Africa<\/a> to reach Saturday\u2019s match. The country was playing in the World Cup for just the third time and the run enchanted a nation that is normally far more interested in hockey than the pitch.<\/p>\n Canada coach Jesse Marsch shared his postgame message to the team.<\/p>\n \u201cI told them that I was proud of them and I challenged them to understand that we can play like this all the time against the best teams in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can be better on the day. And then the challenge is, can we hold that standard for 90 minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n