Ismael Saibari will miss the match against France in Boston due to a hamstring injury sustained last week.
Published July 9, 2026
Morocco’s plans for their World Cup quarter-final against France have been shaken after it was confirmed that star forward Ismael Saibari will be absent.
Saibari suffered a hamstring injury in the last-16 match against Canada, and coach Mohamed Ouabi said on Wednesday that he would not recover in time for the crucial final.
“Everyone is 100 percent fit except Saibari. This game is too early for him, but I hope he doesn’t miss the rest of the tournament,” Ouabi told reporters ahead of Thursday’s last-eight match in Boston.
Saibari, who joined Bayern Munich from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven on a five-year contract with an estimated fee of 50 million euros (approximately $57 million), is one of the standout players at this year’s World Cup.
He scored a goal in each of the team’s three group games and scored the winning penalty in the penalty shootout as Morocco defeated the Netherlands in the last 32.
However, the attacking midfielder was forced to leave last Saturday’s 3-0 last-16 win against Canada with a hamstring problem.
If Morocco advances, Saibari could make an upset in the semi-finals.
“He’s not ready yet, but I hope this won’t be the end of the tournament for him,” Ouabi said.
Sufian Rahimi, an outstanding striker, replaced Saibari in that match and scored Morocco’s third goal.
The Atlas Lions are looking to avenge their 2-0 loss to France in the 2022 World Cup semi-finals.
This is the first time an African or Arab team has reached the final four of the tournament, and their motivation this time around is to match that performance.
Wabi dismissed suggestions that if the team reaches the quarterfinals, it could already be considered a success in the tournament.
The coach, who took over from coach Walid Reglagi in March, said, “I definitely want to win tomorrow’s game, so I won’t listen to anyone who says it doesn’t matter if I play in the game now.”
“Tomorrow we will try to reach the semi-finals. I don’t like this feeling that we have already done well and everything else is a bonus,” added Ouabi, who said he watched the 2022 matchup between the two teams on TV as a fan.
Meanwhile, Moroccan Real Madrid star Brahim Dias has insisted his team can compete with their French idols ahead of a match with his colleague Kylian Mbappé at club level.
“Tomorrow we play one of the favorites and we showed that we can compete. That’s why we’re here. I have full faith in the team.”
