Morocco and France are closest to the top of the quarter.

The Moroccan and French national teams seem closer to an anticipated clash in the quarter-finals of the North American World Cup, reminiscent of their encounter in the semi-finals of the last edition, as they face Canada in Houston and Paraguay in Philadelphia respectively on Saturday, in the opening of the Round of 16.

Morocco experienced an exciting scenario and secured its place in the Round of 16 after equalizing in the first minute of stoppage time against the Netherlands, before ultimately winning 3-2 on penalties.

The "Atlas Lions" aim to repeat their heroic run to the semi-finals in 2022, having not lost since the Africa Cup of Nations final, with an unbeaten streak of nine matches (6 wins and 3 draws).

Morocco can approach the match with confidence, having qualified in six of their last eight knockout matches in major tournaments.

Morocco has the necessary tools to continue its good run so far under its new coach Mohamed Wahbi, led by captain Achraf Hakimi, who will become the first African player to reach 15 appearances in the World Cup, having contributed to five goals in his last seven international matches (one goal and four assists).

Wahbi said after overcoming the Netherlands: "Canada will present us with different challenges. We need to recover well and find solutions. If we do things right, no one can stop us, but also no one is invincible."

There are doubts about the participation of defender Shadi Riyad due to an injury sustained in the last match against the Netherlands.

On the other hand, Canada, one of the tournament hosts, will try to achieve a milestone by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in its history.

After dominating the Round of 32 against South Africa, Canada was rewarded with a winning goal in the 90+2 minute in its first knockout match. The goal was scored by Stephen Eustáquio, whose last three international goals all came after the 65th minute.

The team's enthusiastic American coach Jesse Marsch considers this match "an opportunity without pressure."

However, the Canadians have lost all four of their matches in tournaments against teams ranked in the top 25 of the FIFA rankings, making this encounter their biggest challenge in the 2026 edition.

Except for the absence of Ismail Koné, whose tournament ended due to a fracture sustained in the match against Qatar in the second round, Canada appears to be at full strength, and their defender and Bayern Munich player Alphonso Davies may start for the first time in this tournament.