France meet Morocco in the opening Quarter-Final tie at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Victory would see France reach the semi-finals at the World Cup for a third straight edition – and an eighth occasion overall in this competition.
Morocco meanwhile are looking to advance into the semi-finals of this competition for just the second time in their history.
Team News
France have no fresh injury or suspension concerns to report, although midfielder – Aurelien Tchouameni is pushing for a start after he was benched in their 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the Round of 16.
Morocco could be without forward, Ismael Saibari after he suffered a hamstring strain in the first half of their 3-0 win over Canada, which saw him substituted during the first half.
Chadi Riad faces a late fitness test after he missed the game against Canada due to a knock.
When is Kick-Off?
France meet Morocco at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, USA, on Thursday 9 July at 4pm EDT (9pm BST), live on ITV1 and ITVX in the UK.
Stat Attack
- France won their only previous World Cup clash against Morocco by a 2-0 result at the semi-final stage in 2022.
- Excluding penalty shootouts, Morocco are yet to beat France in all competitions (D2, L4), with their sole win over Les Bleus having come 6-5 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in King Hassan II Cup in May 1998.
- No France player at this tournament has drawn more fouls than Michael Olise (9).
- Two of the six yellow cards shown to Morocco players so far at this tournament were awarded to Issa Diop.
Prediction
Having scraped past Paraguay’s deeply defensive bus and immense heat, France will feel confident that they can win this game if they continue to play with the same quality as they’ve done all tournament, but just be much sharper than they were last time out.
Morocco meanwhile were outplayed at times by Canada but their defensive quality and resilience on top of clinical second-half finishing saw them through, yet they have to be absolutely defensively more solid because France will punish them in the way that Canada failed to if not careful.
This Morocco team however will have the motivation of their semi-final heartbreak four years ago to spur them on but I do think that France will just be too strong.
Prediction: France 2-1 Morocco
Result: France 2-0 Morocco
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