The boisterous Morrocan crowd whistled them every time Canada touched the ball. Four minutes into the match, Canada conceded perhaps one of the most embarrassing goals of the tournament as Milan Borjan misplayed a back pass and was calmly chipped by Hakim Ziyech. Less than 20 minutes later Les Rouges were caught out again by a routine ball of the top as Yousseff El-Nesyri doubled the advantage.

It is a scene that Canadian men’s national team fans have seen play out multiple times at stadiums all over the Concacaf region. Usually, it ends quite ugly. But in their final match at the 2022 group stage, Canada dug deep, found a goal and finished with a respectable 2-1 loss to a Morocco team who ultimately topped Group F.

It certainly can’t be labelled a ‘moral victory’, although they were perhaps centimetres away from that should Atiba Hutchinson’s second-half header have crossed the goal-line and earned Canada a first-ever World Cup result. But it was a sign of the growth and resilience of this team that instead of falling apart they fought until the final whistle.

In a match that meant significantly more to Morocco than it did to Canada, Les Rouges put in a solid second-half performance. They out-chanced Morocco 0.86 expected goals to 0, had five corner kicks and held 66 per cent of the possession.

In what is almost certainly one of his final matches for Canada, substitute Atiba Hutchinson was key in that turnaround. The second oldest outfit player in the tournament’s history, the 39-year-old Hutchinson bounced back from a difficult performance against Croatia to be his usual ageless self against Morocco. He instantly helped to solidify the Canadian midfield as they kept the Atlas Lions pinned into their own area, looking every bit like the seemingly timeless player who has put this country on his back time and time again.

The work of Sam Adekugbe, making his first World Cup start, also deserves to be praised. It was his tireless work down the left flank, continually getting into dangerous positions, that ultimately led to a 40th-minute Moroccan own goal. Ismäel Koné’s composure on the ball also continued to be before his years as the 20-year-old midfielder made yet another significant second-half substitute appearance.

On another day, perhaps in another tournament, where a few bounces actually go Canada’s way, the bounce off the crossbar from Hutchinson’s header crosses the line. Then all of that second-half effort from the men in red would have truly been rewarded.

But as the final whistle signalled the end of Canada’s first World Cup appearance in 36 years — it also signalled the end of another 36-year wait. Morocco, for the first time since that Mexico 1986 tournament where Canada made its first and only other World Cup appearance, had booked a spot in the tournament’s knockout round.

As Canadian players looked around them on the field, savouring their last few moments at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, they got a glimpse at the sort of ecstasy that comes with winning at this tournament. Not just winning, but defying expectations to top an incredibly difficult group. Of playing a resolute defensive style while still providing entertaining and imaginative football.

Canada’s final image of the 2022 World Cup will be of a Morocco team that got to where they want to go next. Not just showing up. Not just scoring a few goals. But turning those moments of magic into complete performances, victories, and ultimately knockout-round football.

There weren’t really any concrete expectations for this Canadian team at Qatar 2022. With that in mind, moments like their second-half fightback against Morocco can genuinely be praised and appreciated. So can scoring their first-ever World Cup goal, or the own goal caused by Sam Adekugbe, or the way they put the World on notice against Belgium.

But on home soil in four years, at the end of the group stage, the minimum expectation will be for the team to be giving each other the sort of celebratory embraces that Morocco’s players were at the conclusion of the group stage. That is the lasting image that this team will need to manifest going into 2026 to take a difficult, but critical, next step as a footballing nation.