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France will face Morocco in the quarterfinals of the World Cup at the Foxborough Stadium, outside Boston in the US, on Thursday in a rematch of the 2022 World Cup won by Les Bleus.
France have been the best team in the tournament so far, playing impressive football to reach the last 16 – although they needed a penalty from Kylian Mbappe to topple the Paraguayan side. they won 1-0 in the second knocking phase.
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The Atlas Lions were as impressive as they come Canada won 3-0 in the round of 16, and went through their group with a draw against Brazil and good wins over Haiti and Scotland.
It makes for an interesting quarterfinal. Al Jazeera takes a look at the main points of discussion ahead of the debate.
Full history between France and Morocco
France ended Morocco’s bid for Qatar 2022 by beating them 2-0 in the semifinals, before losing in the final against Argentina.
Four years on, France are still the favorites to win, but Morocco are now recognized as a real World Cup contender as the Atlas Lions have established themselves as a force in the world.
“We’re not surprising anymore today, and that’s something to be very proud of,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said after his team beat Canada 3-0 in the last 16.
“I think this is just the beginning, and I’m sure we’ll continue to build this brand for years to come.”
Ouahbi insists that revenge against France is not a strong motivation for Morocco.
“We want to go as far as we can and make our people proud,” he said.
But the Atlas Lions would also be happy to send a defeated France team in 2022, as well as defeat the former colonialists.
The two countries share often historical as Morocco was a French country for several decades in the 20th century, and France has more than 700,000 Moroccans.
Stopping Mbappe will be difficult
France have an embarrassment of riches up front: Kylian Mbappe has already scored seven goals at the 2026 World Cup and tops the Golden Boot table alongside Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland.
Les Bleus also boast Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, who scored a hat-trick against Norway in the group stage, as well as other international attacking talents.
But Morocco are a stable and disciplined team who will fancy their chances of destroying France – especially since Paraguay managed to upset the French so well.
Africa can rely on the likes of Yassine Bounou, who looks to be saving his World Cup form, and Achraf Hakimi, the best defender in the world, as well as solid defenders and midfielders who work hard to test the defence.
France will get their hands dirty
In four games at the World Cup, France has impressed the world with their attacking style. However in Saturday’s battle against Paraguay, Les Bleus showed they can get their hands dirty again.
For 90 minutes, they refused to be swayed by a Paraguay team that played with the tools they had. And whether people like it or not, the dark arts on display are part of the history of international sports.
France’s victory came through this – unlike Germany, which was eliminated by South America in the round of 32 – and did it in 90 minutes, unlike Argentina, which needed an extra fight to defeat Cape Verde.
Not always helped by referee Ilgiz Tantashev, who did not show Paraguay a yellow card, France reached the quarterfinals showing that they are as strong in battle as they are on the ball.
“We reminded everyone that France is not just playing football,” second-half substitute Rayan Cherki said.
“For anyone who wants to go to war with us, this is what you have to look forward to.”
The slow change in training in Morocco has also paid off
Four years ago, Morocco’s impressive progress to the World Cup finals in Qatar came even —after changing their coach three months before the tournament.
They did the same at the end of 2026 in Canada, Mexico and the United States – but the move seems to be paying off. Ouahbi is seen as the successor to Walid Regragui, who resigned after the Africa Cup of Nations final earlier this year.
He also changed the tactical plan, especially sharing with the traditional striker, sending Ismael Saibari in the “false nine”, and making the midfielder Azzedine Ounahi play high.
The results were immediate – Ounahi scored twice against Canada on Saturday as Morocco became the first team in the last eight.
A suspended cloud hangs over France
The worry for France is that Bradley Barcola, Manu Kone and Michael Olise picked up yellow cards in their last game and will miss the semifinals if booked against Morocco.
While France coach Didier Deschamps can rely on Desire Doue, who won France’s penalty against Paraguay, to replace Barcola if he is suspended, the manager may need to find other options during the game if Kone misses out.
The absence of Olise – he was the top three player in France in the competition – would be a big problem for Les Bleus, should he be suspended.
