Underdogs Again. Just Where Canada Like It

Canada had to wait a day to find out their next opponent, after a stunning last-second winner in Sunday’s Round of 32, but their Round of 16 clash is set.

After Morocco triumphed on Monday night in penalties over the Netherlands, they’ll advance to meet Canada on Saturday in Houston. It’s a familiar foe for the Canadians, after the Atlas Lions shared a group with John Herdman’s team in Qatar in 2022, beating them 2-1 ahead of their stunning march to the semifinals. 

Unsurprisingly, for Africa’s strongest team, they’ll enter Saturday’s Round of 16 as considerable favourites: -125 to win inside of 90 minutes and -270 to advance, with Jesse Marsch's team coming back at +375 (90') and +250 to advance, only on BET99. But, after the way in which Marsch has galvanized the team, and country, throughout the tournament, underdog status will serve them just fine.

So too will the matchup, with Marsch’s high defensive line and rapid-paced counter-attacking style well suited against superior opponents. 

That was evident in a 0-0 draw with a team on the fringe of the top 10 in the world, Colombia, in October. 

Morocco have scored in each of their four games so far, and were among the highest-scoring teams at both the 2025 African Cup of Nations and in Africa’s World Cup qualifiers. They're likely to score inside of 90 minutes, with Over 0.5 goals at -450 and Over 1.5 at +105. 

But, Canada will get chances on the break, and whether or not they can capitalize will prove the difference. It's a slim margin in the goals market, with Canada's Over/Under on 0.5 goals at -150/+110. If they're to break through and push Morocco toward an upset, oddsmakers like all-time leading scorer Jonathan David (+315) or this tournament's super sub Promise David (+315) to be the ones to do it.

Canada have already enjoyed their most successful World Cup in program history. In the Round of 16, they head into their toughest matchup yet but during Marsch’s tenure, they’ve impressed in an underdog role. Their most impressive performance yet could see an upset, and a trip to the quarterfinals, for the upstart co-hosts.

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Odds as of July 2, 2026.