France will face Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals on Thursday at Foxborough Stadium outside Boston, USA, in a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semifinals won by Les Bleus.
France have been the best team in the competition so far and played some brilliant football en route to the last 16, although they needed a penalty from Kylian Mbappé to overcome a stubborn Paraguayan team and secure a 1-0 win in the second knockout phase.
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The Atlas Lions were impressive, defeating Canada 3-0 in the Round of 16. With a draw against Brazil and easy wins over Haiti and Scotland, they progressed smoothly through the group.
It will be an interesting quarter-final. Al Jazeera considers the key issues ahead of the clash.
The history between France and Morocco
France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the semi-finals and lost in the final to Argentina, ending Morocco’s fairy-tale bid for the 2022 Qatar tournament.
Four years later, France remain firm favorites to win the tournament, but Morocco is also seen as a genuine World Cup contender now that the Atlas Lions have established themselves as a powerhouse in world football.
“Today is no longer a surprise. It’s a matter of great pride,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouabi said after defeating Canada 3-0 in the last 16.
“I think this is just the beginning. I hope to continue this type of performance for many years to come.”
Wabi insists that revenge against France is not Morocco’s main motive.
“We want to do the best we can and make our people proud,” he said.
But the Atlas Lions will find an added thrill in sending a French team to defeat their former colony after their loss in 2022.
The two countries often share a difficult history, as Morocco was a French colony for several decades in the 20th century, and France has a population of over 700,000 people of Moroccan descent.
It will be difficult to stop Mbappé
France has an embarrassing wealth on the front lines. Kylian Mbappé has already scored seven goals at the 2026 World Cup, taking him joint-first in the Golden Boot with Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland.
Les Bleus also have current Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, who scored a hat-trick against Norway in the group stage, as well as several other world-class attacking talents.
However, Morocco are a compact and disciplined team and will not miss any chance to thwart France’s attack, especially after Paraguay’s impressive failure of France.
The African nation can count on players like goalkeeper Yassin Bounou, who looks to be at his best for the World Cup, and Achraf Hakimi, arguably the best right-back in the world, as well as solid centre-backs and a hard-working midfield to protect the defence.
France will get its hands dirty
During the four games of the World Cup, France captivated the world with their aggressive play. But in the trenches against Paraguay on Saturday, Les Bleus showed they can also get their hands dirty.
For 90 minutes they resisted the provocations of the Paraguayan side, who played with weapons at their disposal. And whether people like it or not, the dark art on display is part of global gaming history.
France’s achievement was that they were able to overcome it in 90 minutes, unlike Germany, who were defeated by the South American side in the Round of 32, and unlike Argentina, who needed a draining overtime to defeat Cape Verde.
It wasn’t necessarily helped by referee Ilgiz Tantashev, who didn’t give Paraguay a single yellow card, but France still showed they were as strong on the field as they were on the ball and reached the quarter-finals.
Rayan Cherki, who came on as a substitute in the second half, said, “It reminded everyone that France is not just about playing soccer.”
“If you want to go to war with us, this is what you can expect.”
Morocco’s late managerial change has paid off once again.
Four years ago, Morocco made a breakthrough run to the semi-finals of the Qatar World Cup despite changing managers three months before the tournament.
They did it again ahead of the 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States, and the move appears to be paying off. Ouabi has proven to be an inspired replacement for Walid Legulagui, who resigned after the African Cup of Nations final earlier this year.
He made changes to his personnel and tactical plans, in particular doing away with the traditional centre-forward, placing Ismael Saibari in a “false nine” and forcing midfielder Azzedine Ounahi to play higher up the pitch.
The results were immediate. Unahi scored twice against Canada on Saturday as Morocco advanced to the last eight for the first time.
Hanging clouds hang over France
One concern for France is that Bradley Barcola, Manu Kone and Michael Oliseh each received yellow cards in their last match and will miss a potential semi-final if they play Morocco.
France coach Didier Deschamps could rely on Desir Douet, who scored a penalty in France’s match against Paraguay, to replace Barcola if he is suspended, but he will need to find other options in midfield if Kone is unavailable.
Olise’s absence will be a big blow to Les Bleus if he is suspended, as he is one of the top three players on the France squad at this tournament.
