FIFA World Cup
The 1-0 win against South Africa in the Round of 32 saw Jesse Marsch's Canada advancing to the Round of 16 for the first time in their history and the American tactician will be keen to keep the positive run going.
Morocco, however, will have no fear after knocking out three-time runners-up Netherlands on penalties in the Round of 32, with Mohamed Ouahbi confident his charges are capable of taking on any team.
For the second straight match, Marsch will not have the backing of the home crowd for his Canada side with the team having also played the previous match in Inglewood, California.
Scoring has not been a problem for the CONCACAF side, finding the back of the net in every one of their four matches thus far with Juventus' Jonathan David the leading marksman on three goals.
Defensively, it has been a mixed performances with clean sheets against Qatar and South Africa while conceding against Switzerland as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina with the head coach believing Canada will have to be at their best to advance.
"This is where we expect to be and this is where we want to be, and we know that Morocco is going to challenge every single thing we do and this is a team that has literally zero weaknesses," Marsch said in his pre-match press conference.
"We have to try to be good at the things that we care about and that we are good at, and we have to see if that can hold up against an opponent like this."
Morocco are building on their incredible semi-final run four years ago with another eye-catching set of results in Group B where they finished second to Brazil only on goal difference.
Starting with a credible 1-1 draw against the mighty Brazil, Morocco swept aside Scotland and Haiti with ease to make their way into the knockout phase.
Ouahbi's side rose to the occasion in their last 32 clash with the Netherlands as Issa Diop's stoppage time equaliser took the game to extra time and eventually penalties where they emerged 3-2 victors.
The 49-year-old tactician is demanding for zero complacency with a place in the last 16 at stake.
“This will be a difficult match, a very difficult match,” Ouahbi said. “We are playing in the Round of 16 of the World Cup. The team we are facing is a very good team. If we are not at our level, we will return home.
“I respect Canada. What will be important is to play at the same level we showed in our previous matches. To win this game, we have to stay fully focused and show our quality on the pitch.”
With a quarter-final tie against either Paraguay or France at stake, both Canada and Morocco will leave no stone unturned as they bid to keep their interest in the tournament alive, setting up a highly anticipated clash last 16 tie.
Canada v Morocco
Venue: Houston Stadium (Houston)
Kick-off: Saturday, 12:00 (UTC-5)
Venue: Houston Stadium (Houston)
Kick-off: Saturday, 12:00 (UTC-5)
