Morocco secured a place in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup with a 4-2 comeback victory against Haiti on Wednesday in Atlanta. The North African team twice overcame deficits to neutralize the Caribbean nation’s hopes of gaining their first-ever point at the tournament, which marked Haiti’s return to the World Cup stage after a 52-year absence.
Haiti initially took the lead through an own goal early in the match. Morocco equalized before halftime through Achraf Hakimi, last year’s African Footballer of the Year, who scored in the 39th minute. The teams exchanged goals in a dynamic encounter, with Caribbean side showing resilience against a more experienced Moroccan squad.
Substitutes Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine proved decisive late in the game. Rahimi’s deflected shot in the 78th minute put Morocco ahead 3-2, while Yassine sealed the win with a goal in the 89th minute, extinguishing any remaining upset hopes for Haiti.
Morocco finished Group C with seven points, level on points with group leaders Brazil, who recorded a 3-0 win over Scotland. However, Morocco advanced as runners-up due to goal difference and are set to face one of the winners from Group F—Netherlands, Japan, or Sweden—on Monday in the knockout round.
Haiti became the first team eliminated from the expanded 48-team tournament after their second loss in the group stage. Their spirited performance nonetheless drew praise, highlighting their growth despite limited World Cup experience.
In other group stage developments on Wednesday, South Africa advanced to the knockout round for the first time in their history with a 1-0 victory over South Korea. Thapelo Maseko scored the decisive goal in the 63rd minute. South Africa finished second in Group A behind Mexico and will face Canada in the next round. Canada secured a spot in the round of 32 for the first time overall despite a 2-1 loss to Switzerland, finishing second in Group B behind the Swiss.
Bosnia-Herzegovina boosted their chances of knockout advancement with a 3-1 victory over Qatar. The win put Bosnia-Herzegovina in a strong position to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams across the groups, potentially marking their first World Cup knockout appearance since their debut in 2014. Eighteen-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic scored in the 29th minute, becoming one of the youngest goal scorers in World Cup history.
The expanded tournament format continues to create opportunities for emerging soccer nations, with several teams securing historic progress to the knockout stage.