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France will face Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals at Foxborough Stadium, outside Boston in the US, on Thursday in a rematch of the ۲۰۲۲ World Cup semifinal won by Les Bleus.
France have been this tournament’s finest team so far, playing some scintillating football on their way to reaching the last ۱۶ – although they required a Kylian Mbappe penalty to break down a stubborn Paraguay side and eke out a ۱-۰ win in the second knockout phase.
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The Atlas Lions were impressive as they bossed Canada to win ۳-۰ in the round of ۱۶, and they strolled through their group with a draw against Brazil and comfortable wins over Haiti and Scotland.
It makes for an intriguing quarterfinal. Al Jazeera looks at the key talking points ahead of the clash.
Loaded history between France and Morocco
France ended Morocco’s fairytale run at Qatar ۲۰۲۲ by beating them ۲-۰ in the semifinals, before they went on to lose in the final against Argentina.
Four years on, France are still the firm favourites to prevail, but now Morocco are also considered genuine World Cup contenders as the Atlas Lions have firmly established themselves as a force in world football.
“We’re no longer a surprise today, and that’s a great source of pride,” Morocco’s coach Mohamed Ouahbi said after his side beat Canada ۳-۰ in the last ۱۶.
“I think this is only the beginning, and I hope we’ll keep producing this kind of run for many years.”
Ouahbi insists that revenge against France is not Morocco’s main motivation.
“We want to go as far as possible and make our people proud,” he said.
But the Atlas Lions would surely take an extra thrill in dispatching the French side after the ۲۰۲۲ defeat, as well as in defeating their former colonisers.
The two countries share an often fraught history as Morocco was a French colony for several decades in the ۲۰th century, and France has a more than ۷۰۰,۰۰۰-strong population of Moroccan origin.
Stopping Mbappe will be difficult
France have an embarrassment of riches up front: Kylian Mbappe has already scored seven goals at the ۲۰۲۶ World Cup and is joint-top of the Golden Boot table alongside Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland.
Les Bleus also boast the reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, who scored a hat-trick against Norway in the group stages, as well as several other world-class attacking talents.
But Morocco are a compact and disciplined side that will fancy their chances of stymying France’s attack – especially as Paraguay managed to frustrate the French so successfully.
The African nation can rely on the likes of goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who seems to save his very best performances for the World Cup, and Achraf Hakimi, arguably the best right-back in the world, as well as solid centre-backs and a midfield that works hard to screen the defence.
France will get their hands dirty
For four matches at the World Cup, France had enchanted the globe with their attacking play. Yet in Saturday’s trench war against Paraguay, Les Bleus showed they could get their hands dirty, too.
For ۹۰ minutes, they resisted the provocation of a Paraguay side who played with the weapons at their disposal. And whether people like it or not, the dark arts that were on display are part of the history of the global game.
France’s achievement was to come through it – unlike Germany, eliminated by the South Americans in the round of ۳۲ – and to do so in ۹۰ minutes, unlike Argentina, who needed a draining extra-time battle to overcome Cape Verde.
Not always helped by referee Ilgiz Tantashev, who did not show Paraguay a single yellow card, France nevertheless reached the quarterfinals having shown they are as strong in a fight as they are on the ball.
“We reminded everyone that France are not just about playing football,” second-half substitute Rayan Cherki said.
“To anyone who wants to go to war with us, this is what you should expect.”
Morocco’s late coaching change pays off again
Four years ago, Morocco’s groundbreaking progress to the semifinal of the World Cup in Qatar came despite changing their coach three months before the tournament.
They did the same again ahead of the ۲۰۲۶ finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States – but the move appears to be paying off. Ouahbi is proving to be an inspired replacement for Walid Regragui, who quit after the Africa Cup of Nations finals earlier this year.
He changed personnel and tactical plans, notably dispensing with a traditional centre-forward, deploying Ismael Saibari in a “false nine”, and getting midfielder Azzedine Ounahi to play higher up the pitch.
The results were instant – Ounahi scored twice against Canada on Saturday as Morocco became the first side into the last eight.
Suspension cloud hangs over France
One concern for France is that Bradley Barcola, Manu Kone and Michael Olise each picked up a yellow card in their last match and will miss a potential semifinal if they are booked against Morocco.
While France coach Didier Deschamps can rely on Desire Doue, who won the penalty for France against Paraguay, to replace Barcola if he is suspended, the football manager would need to find other options in the midfield should Kone miss out.
Olise’s absence – he’s been a top-three player for France at the tournament – would be a major blow for Les Bleus, were he to be suspended.
