Azzedine Ounahi scored twice to help fire Morocco to a 3-0 win over Canada in the World Cup Round of 16 as The Atlas Lions became the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals more than once.

It is Morocco’s second consecutive appearance in the last eight after becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals in 2022.

Canada dominated the opening stages but neither team was able to break through on Saturday until the Moroccans scored in the 50th minute. Ounahi received a free kick from Achraf Hakimi and fired a right-footed shot through traffic from outside the box into the bottom right corner.

Ounahi made it 2-0 with a right-footed shot from the middle of the box after a pass from Brahim Díaz after a quick counterattack in the 82nd minute.

Soufiane Rahimi – who came on for injured forward Ismael Saibari after just 22 minutes – added the third in the final minute of stoppage time.

Morocco will face the winner of Saturday’s other tie – Paraguay vs France – in Boston on Thursday.

Canada’s loss ends a historic run for the World Cup cohosts, who won their first-ever knockout round match 1-0 against South Africa. The Canadians were playing in the World Cup for just the third time and their run enchanted a nation normally far more interested in hockey than football.

Morocco, ranked sixth in the FIFA rankings, dispatched the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to reach the Round of 16 and send the Dutch to their earliest World Cup exit.

It was an extremely physical match with eight yellow cards being issued. Both teams received four.

Canada had a couple of chances to score late. Jonathan David had a free kick from outside the box in the 78th minute, but his shot sailed over the crossbar.

Just after that, Tajon Buchanan’s shot from about 30 yards was stopped by a diving save from goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. He was born in Canada to Moroccan parents and made three saves to help Morocco secure their win.

This game was a rematch from the last World Cup in Qatar, when Morocco beat Canada 2-1 in the group stage to go on to finish fourth.

Huge crowds pour into Tehran for funeral ceremonies for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike on his compound on February 28.

US President Donald Trump says “neither side will shoot the other during the funeral proceedings” and that talks with Iran will continue after the ceremonies.

[Aljazeera]

India finally unleashed Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi on the world but it was the golden boy of England’s batting line-up who proved the match-winner at Emirates Old Trafford. Jacob Bethell struck a calculated, unbeaten 76 from 46 as England got home in an undulating encounter to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Having opted to bat on the ground where England posted 304 for 2 in their last outing, India’s batters produced in fits and starts to set a target of 191. That looked as though it might be enough when England slipped to 133 for 5, needing 58 from 28 balls. But Bethell stomped on the accelerator at the perfect moment, helping to take 29 from a Ravi Bishnoi over – including three sixes and two no-balls – to upend the equation, as England eventually got home with an over to spare.

The home win was well received by a packed crowd of 16,047, who had earlier treated to a slice of history as the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi made his hotly anticipated senior international debut, eclipsing the great Sachin Tendulkar as the youngest man to represent India. Sooryavanshi replaced the out-of-form Sanju Samson, but only managed 14 off 10 balls (despite hitting two of them for six); Abhishek Sharma blazed brightly for 43 off 24 in the powerplay, while Ishan Kishan made a more laboured 49, and it required Tilak Varma’s cameo to get them nearer 200.

In blustery conditions and with a short boundary to one side, defending was always going to be a challenge.  Arshdeep Singh claimed 3 for 40, including dismissing both England openers for ducks, but Harry Brook counterpunched with 39 off 15 and Tom Banton then helped provide the middle-order ballast alongside Bethell.

India’s management had dead-batted questions about when Sooryavanshi would be given his head but, after leaving him on the sidelines in Belfast and Durham, they finally succumbed to temptation at Old Trafford – the ground where Tendulkar scored his maiden international hundred almost 36 years ago.

Sooryavanshi famously hit his first ball in IPL cricket inside out over extra cover for six. He didn’t quite have such an immediate impact in India blue, swinging and missing at his first two balls from Josh Tongue – another debutant, but one who, at 28, has played fewer T20s than Sooryavanshi.

Tongue delivered five wides down leg from the next, before Sooryavanshi got off the mark digging out a yorker for one. Then came the first “I was there” moment, as Sooryavanshi faced up to his Rajasthan Royals team-mate Jofra Archer and then piled into a trademark over-the-shoulder sweep then sailed into the crowd beyond fine leg.

His seventh ball was also dispatched for six over deep midwicket, with India targeting the shorter side of the ground. But Abhishek took up the running as the opening stand reached 50 in the fifth over, and Sooryavanshi didn’t make it any further, lured from his ground by Will Jacks’ offspin and unable to slide his foot back as Jos Buttler completed the stumping.

England are Abhishek’s favourite international opponents, scoring almost a quarter of his runs against them (390 off 1589) in eight appearances, with a strike rate of 214.28. He looked a little rusty to begin with, despite hitting 59 off 24 on Wednesday night, swinging and missing with regularity to be 8 off 12 balls – one of his two boundaries a thick inside edge off Archer that just missed leg stump.

However, he twice found the middle as Tongue’s second over went for 20, carving over point before punching six down the ground. He then hit Jacks for back-to-back boundaries as England belatedly turned to offspin against the left-handed opening pair. Sam Curran was greeted with a slap down the ground, before Abhishek picked up another brace of fours either side of Archer at long-on. The final ball of the powerplay, a low full toss, was there to be ransacked, too – only for Abhishek to send it down the throat of deep midwicket.

From 65 for 2 after six, India consolidated through the third-wicket partnership of Iyer and Kishan. The next four overs went for single-figures, to leave them 96 for 2 at halfway. Kishan was going at a run a ball and could have been dismissed for 15 in the 11th when he underhit a slog-sweep off Adil Rashid; but Phil Salt was several yards in from the rope and could only palm a one-handed overhead chance for four.

Runs were still coming readily, nevertheless, and Iyer brought up the 50 partnership from 33 balls with a delicate steer off a Tongue slower delivery. He was then struck on the hand by one that reared up, requiring treatment from the physio before continuing. A six off Liam Dawson was India’s first since the powerplay, but Iyer fell to a running catch at deep extra cover as England once again made a timely breakthrough with the score on 130 for 3.

The home side fightback continued through the back of the innings. Shivam Dube, so destructive at the Riverside, found his timing had deserted him, falling for 5 off 7 during a 16th over delivered by Curran at a cost of two runs. Kishan broke the shackles by reverse-sweeping Jacks and then clubbing Curran over extra cover – but then skied his next ball to mid-off. Axar Patel was run out by Buttler as India only managed 37 runs off 35 balls after the dismissal of Iyer.

However, a disputed wide call against Tongue allowed Harshit Rana to belt the final ball of the 19th over for six, and Varma then cashed in to the short side with back-to-back launches into the crowd off Archer, followed by a slice over the head of short third, as India scraped up to 190.

On this ground last September, England’s opening pair of Salt and Buttler put on 126 inside eight overs against South Africa. Buttler made 83 off 30 balls, while Salt batted through the innings for an unbeaten 141 from 60 – England becoming the first Full Member nation to rack up 300 in a T20I.

This time around, neither got past the first over, delivered by Arshdeep. Salt, playing on his home ground for the first time in almost 10 months, could only smile ruefully as his attempt to cut his first ball ended up as a nick to the keeper. Arshdeep then added Buttler for a three-ball duck, a firm clip off the pads snaffled above his head by Varun Chakravarthy at midwicket to leave England 1 for 2 after one.

Brook quickly set about righting the ship, picking off Harshit Rana for consecutive fours in the second over and then making a significant dent in Arshdeep’s figures. The sequence read 4-4-6-6-6 on paper but that only touched on the destructiveness as Brook took advantage of width to slap fours through point and down the ground, then the overcorrection into the body by pinging Arshdeep over the short boundary. The third six was actually caught by Axar at deep backward square leg, but his momentum forced him to toss the ball away – only for it to land flush on the boundary cushion.

With Bishnoi conceding a pair of boundaries in his opening over, Brook and Bethell quickly patched up the damage with a fifty stand from 23 balls. But Axar separated them immediately after, though it required the intervention of DRS to pick up a brush of Brook’s glove down the leg side that was well held by Kishan. England had to rebuild again, ending the powerplay on 61 for 3.

Bethell had been going at roughly a run a ball until he belted Varun for six in the 10th over, as a measured stand of 67 with Banton helped get England into range. When Banton sliced the returning Arshdeep to deep point, they needed 73 from the last seven – but the rate climbed further as Varun and Axar delivered tight overs, the former removing Jacks lbw to leave England five down.

Bethell, whose last T20I innings was a maiden hundred in a losing cause in the T20 World Cup semi-final against the same opposition, was just waiting for his moment. He had moved to 42 off 36, with England needing 49 from the last four overs, when he suddenly clicked up through the gears: Bishnoi was mowed over the leg side three times in the 17th over, to go with a thump through cover, and then Harshit reverse-ramped all the way to bring the requirement below a run a ball and effectively end the contest.

Scores:
England 191 for 6 in 19 overs (Harry Brook 39, Jacob Bethell 76*, Tom Banton 39,  Jofra Archer 10-; Arshdeep Singh 3-40, Harshit Rana 1-30, Axar Patel 1-20, Varun Chakravarthy 1-37) beat India 190 for 7 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma  43, Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi 14, Ishan Kishan 49,  Shreyas Iyer 37, Tilak Varma 24*; Jofra Archer 1-40, Will Jacks 1-22, Sam Curran 3-33, LiamDawson 1-27) by four wickets

[Cricinfo]