Moroccan striker Ismail Sibari suffered a worrying injury during his country’s match against Canada, in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, which forced him to leave the field early.
Al-Sibari complained of muscle pain, and the Moroccan national team’s technical staff decided to replace him just 22 minutes after the start of the match, as coach Mohamed Wehbe brought on striker Sofiane Rahimi instead.
Sibari’s injury is a major blow to the Moroccan national team, especially since he was the team’s top scorer in the tournament with 3 goals scored against Brazil, Scotland and Haiti in the group stage.
The player also scored the decisive penalty kick that gave Morocco the qualification card at the expense of the Netherlands in the round of 32, after the original and extra time ended in a 1-1 draw.
Following his remarkable brilliance in the World Cup, Al-Sibari moved during the tournament from PSV Eindhoven to Germany’s Bayern Munich, hours after the Dutch team was eliminated.
The Moroccan national team qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, after defeating its Canadian counterpart, 3-0, in the match that brought them together in the round of 16 competitions at Philadelphia Stadium in the state of Pennsylvania – United States of America.
