Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: France and Morocco have booked their spots in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after securing Round of 16 victories on Sunday morning.
France defeated Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia, while Morocco humbled co-hosts Canada 3-0 in Houston.
The 2022 finalists scored the only goal of the match when Kylian Mbappé scored from the spot in the 70th minute of the match. The first half ended goalless. However, substitute Désiré Doué forced Paraguay’s Diego Gómez to make a clumsy trip inside the penalty box. Following a video assistant referee (VAR) review, the referee pointed to the spot. Mbappé stayed cool under pressure and sent goalkeeper Orlando Gill the wrong way.
This was Mbappé’s 7th goal of the competition. He is tied with Argentina Captain Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. However, Messi has played one game fewer.
France will now meet Morocco, who beat Canada 3-0 in the first match of the day, in the quarterfinal in Boston.
Morocco 3-0 Canada
The African powerhouse secured their place in the quarter-final by eliminating co-hosts Canada in the Round of 16.
Although the two sides played a goalless first half, Morocco opened the scoring in the 50th minute when Azzedine Ounahi collected Captain Achraf Hakimi’s free-kick at the edge of the box and fired the ball home past Canada keeper Maxime Crépeau to give Morocco a 1-0 advantage.
Morocco doubled their lead in the 82nd minute as Ounahi got his brace through a powerful shot into the top corner after being set up by Brahim Díaz. Morocco got their third in the 98th minute as Díaz provided another superb pass to substitute Soufiane Rahimi who fired a low shot past the stretched Canadian keeper.
