Alistair Johnston: Media react to Celtic star’s display after Canada World Cup defeat

Canada were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup on Saturday after they were soundly defeated 3-0 by Morocco in the round of 16.

Celtic’s Alistair Johnston played the full 90 minutes of the match but was unable to prevent the North African side’s ruthless attack from finding the net.

As a result, the Canadian’s are the first of the three hosts to exit the tournament, with Morocco progressing into the quarter-finals.

When reflecting on the right-back’s performance, the media did not think the defender had an awful game despite the big defeat.

Johnston had played and started in every single match for the North American side this World Cup.

Now, he is set to return to Celtic as they prepare for the 2026-27 campaign.

Alistair Johnston given six rating in Canada defeat

Despite the loss, Johnston was seen as one of the better players on the field for Canada against Morocco.

The defender was reportedly “steady defensively” even though the hosts conceded three goals in their defeat.

DAZN gave Johnston a six rating out of 10 and went on to say: “Steady defensively; late shot went wide during Canada's desperate push.”

Therefore, in the media’s view, the Celtic star was not the reason for the loss, and even attempted to get a late consultation goal for the hosts.

Nevertheless, Canada are now out, and Morocco will either face France or Paraguay in the quarter-finals, with the tie set to take place on Thursday at Boston Stadium.

How good was Johnston vs Morocco?

According to Fotmob on 4 July, Johnston really did not have a good time against Morocco.

Overall, he completed 83 per cent of his passes, did not complete a single dribble, cross or long ball, was dispossessed once and only won 25 per cent of his ground duels.

It was no doubt a tough game for Johnston, according to the stats, and one he will be looking to quickly put behind him.

Celtic will now be hoping that this performance was simply a one-off as they look to defend their Scottish Premiership title.

However, it remains to be seen how the Canada international will perform in the 2026-27 campaign for the Hoops as the club look to greatly improve both domestically and in Europe.