France and Morocco will face off again this Thursday in World Cup qualifying, just as they did four years ago at Qatar 2022, although this time they’ll meet in the quarterfinals, and the Atlas Lions have a score to settle.
The match, the first of the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup, will kick off at 4:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. GMT) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, on the outskirts of Boston (United States), home of the NFL’s New England Patriots.
Morocco Seeks Revenge and Aims to Make History Against France
Back in 2022, in Qatar, Morocco put on the best performance ever by an African national team at a World Cup after eliminating Spain and Portugal, but France stood in their way, knocking them out in the semifinals with a 2-0 victory.
Now, in 2026, it has also become the first African team to reach the quarterfinals twice—and in consecutive tournaments, no less.
After winning both the Arab Cup and the African Cup of Nations in between, in a highly controversial final against Senegal.
Morocco is no longer a dark horse, but a very formidable team that will be one of the hosts of the 2030 World Cup and now hopes to settle the score with France, a country where six of the players called up by Ouahbi for this World Cup were born.
Saibari’s Big Question
Ismael Saibari is not one of them.
The attacking midfielder, who has been converted to a center forward on Ouahbi’s national team, was not born in Morocco either, but in Terrassa, on the outskirts of Barcelona.
Saibari, who scored crucial goals against Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti, had to be substituted in the first half of the Round of 16 match against Canada.
This was due to discomfort in the hamstrings, although tests ruled out a serious injury.
Bayern Munich’s newest signing has traveled with the team to Boston, although it remains to be seen whether he will play in the match.
If his departure is confirmed, the Moroccan coach will have to turn to Soufiane Rahimi, who has yet to really find his footing with the team.
Morocco will need Saibari’s goals to stand up to France.
France is counting on Mbappé and its star-studded lineup
Not even Paraguay, which threw the French off balance with an ultra-defensive strategy and conceded only one goal, managed to avoid elimination against the heavy favorite to win the title.
Didier Deschamps has a standard starting lineup, with eight regular starters and three positions where he has been rotating players.
Lucas Digne appears to have edged out Théo Hernández for the left-back spot, while Aurélien Tchouaméni and Manu Koné are vying for a spot in midfield.
The most exciting action is up front, where he has been rotating Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué—teammates at PSG—on the left wing.
Barcola started in both knockout matches, but Doué was the game-changer who broke the deadlock against Paraguay.
Morocco seeks revenge
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At the same time, Mbappé is waging his own battle against Argentina’s Lionel Messi for the World Cup Golden Boot and the record for the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
With his goal against Egypt, Messi now has eight goals in this World Cup—one more than Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland—and 21 in total, two more than the French forward.
Probable Lineups
France: Mike Maignan; Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Koné, Adrien Rabiot; Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola (or Désiré Douié), and Kylian Mbappé.
Coach: Didier Deschamps.
Morocco: Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Redouane Halhal, Noussair Mazraoui; Ayyoub Bouaddi, Azzedine Ounahi, Neil El Aynaoui; Brahim Díaz, Bilal El Khannouss, and Soufiane Rahimi.
Head Coach: Mohamed Ouahbi.
Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina).
Venue: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, on the outskirts of Boston (United States).
Time: 4:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. GMT).
With information from EFE
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