Morocco coach Walid Regragui is elated to lead his side to victory against Canada and reach the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in 36 years.
The Atlas Lions edged past Canada 2-1 to top Group F, finishing above 2018 finalists Croatia and Belgium – ranked second in the world.
Morocco took the lead after just four minutes courtesy of Hakim Ziyech’s strike before Youssef En-Nesyri doubled their advantage as he controlled Achraf Hakimi’s superb pass before firing in, however, sloppy defending helped Canada halves the deficit.
“It wasn’t easy, but when you have an opportunity to make history, you remember it,” coach Walid Regragui said.
“We’ve made lots of people happy this evening, but let’s not stop here.
“Before the tournament we set an objective — we said we wanted to give everything we’ve got and get out of the group stages. We can tick that box now.”
Morocco will face Spain in the round of 16 on Tuesday.