2026 FIFA World Cup Day 22 recap: Morocco set up a huge challenge as France beat dirty Paraguay

The round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Saturday with Morocco and France advancing after the two games. 

Morocco’s clash against Canada in Houston was the first match of the day before France took on Paraguay in Philadelphia. 

2026 FIFA World Cup: Paraguay match record from Nigeria clash which angers Mbappe and co

Here’s a recap of how the two matches played out. 

Canada are the first hosts out after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Morocco in their round-of-16 clash in Houston. 

The Canadians were looking to continue their impressive run, but Morocco just had too much for them. 

However, it was not an easy win for the Atlas Lions, as the scoreline suggests, as they had to dig deep to get the win. 

The African champions were second best in the opening half as they were rattled by Jesse Marsch’s men, who could have taken the lead on a few occasions. 

Morocco were also not helped by Ismael Saibari, who went off in the 22nd minute with a suspected hamstring injury. 

But despite their struggles in the first half, Morocco went into the break without conceding. That turned out to be a good thing for the Atlas Lions as they turned it up in the second half to secure a 3-0 win. 

Azzedine Onuahi opened the scoring in the 50th minute before doubling the advantage in the 82nd minute. 

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Soufiane Rahimi’s strike in added time then put gloss on the scoreline as Morocco qualified for back-to-back quarter-finals of a World Cup.  

Up next for the Atlas Lions is a huge clash against tournament favourites, France. 

The second match saw France take on Paraguay in an ill-tempered match in Philly. Les Bleus have been the best team so far in this competition, dispatching teams with ease. 

However, they had to battle Paraguay's dirty tactics and Ilgiz Tantashev's irresponsible officiating. 

The Uzbekistani ref refused to take control of the game despite Paraguay’s dirty tactics. This rocked France and affected their style as they struggled to impose themselves. 

However, despite the South Americans' best attempts to disrupt France’s flow, Didier Deschamps' men still prevailed, thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s penalty in the second half. 

It was Mbappe’s seventh goal of the tournament, drawing him level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race and also putting him one behind the Argentine’s 20 World Cup goals in the all-time standings.