Tournament favourites France face their biggest test of the World Cup so far as they take on dark horses Morocco in a repeat of the 2022 semi-final.
Didier Deschamps’ side have stamped their mark as the team to beat at this summer’s finals with Kylian Mbappe spearheading an attacking powerhouse that breezed through the group stage and last-32, but they endured a more difficult outing last time out against a Paraguay team intent in deploying underhanded tactics.
Mbappe’s spot-kick proved the difference in a 1-0 win to send them through but France will need to return to their ruthless best against Morocco, who have impressed en route to the quarters and comfortably dispatched co-hosts Canada in the previous round.
The Atlas Lions will also be fuelled by the opportunity to exact revenge on Les Bleus for their 2-0 defeat in Doha, which ended their surprise run to the last-four.
Follow all the latest updates from France vs Morocco with our live blog below:
Rating all eight nations ahead of the quarter-finals
5. Morocco 🇲🇦 ⬆️
The Afcon (sort of) champions impressed in the group stage, especially in their opening draw against Brazil where they were the better side, but were punished for not scoring big against Scotland or Haiti as they ran out second in Group C, setting up a match with big hitters Netherlands in the round of 32’s most-stacked tie.
Cue a match filled with last drama and one of the most bewildering penalty shootouts in World Cup history, which saw five out of 10 spot-kicks missed – with Morocco the victors. After inflicting one of the two biggest eliminations of the last-32, Morocco have now dumped out one of the hosts in a dominant win over Canada, and are very much succeeding in their bid to prove their 2022 semi-final run was no fluke.
Morocco’s early team news
And here’s Morocco’s early team news too…
Ismael Saibari was substituted early in their last-16 clash against Canada because of a hamstring strain and Soufiane Rahimi could lead the line instead. Centre-back Chadi Riad is a doubt.
Possible Morocco XI: Bono; Hakimi, Diop, Riad, Mazraoui; Bouaddi, El Aynaoui; Diaz, Ounahi; El Khannouss; Rahimi.
France’s early team news
Under three hours until kick-off now, so here’s a reminder of France’s early team news…
Aurelien Tchouameni remains a doubt having missed the win over Paraguay with a thigh strain, while reserve forward Marcus Thuram is also injured.
Possible France XI: Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Kone, Rabiot; Dembele, Olise, Doue; Mbappe.
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A sign of class
Should they reach the final four, France will become only the third nation to reach the last four in three successive tournaments, joining Germany (4 from 2002-2014 and 3 from 1982-1990) and Brazil (3 from 1994-2002).
France v Morocco
The semi-final meeting in Qatar was the first competitive meeting between France and Morocco.
On that occasion, goals from Théo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani ended the Atlas Lions’ incredible run.
Race for the Golden Boot
Kylian Mbappe is level with Erling Haaland and one behind Leo Messi in what is set to be a captivating race for the Golden Boot.
Mbappe has also made two assists and created 12 chances for France at this World Cup, with only Michael Olise (9) providing more than his eight defensive line-breaking passes for Les Bleus.
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Ouahbi: ‘We’ve proven we can hurt any team – there will not be any surprises’
“With regards to preparing for the match, there will not be any surprises,” said Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi.
“I have nothing to hide. I’m not somebody who is keen on surprises, and those of you who have analysed our games, you know that we have a clear idea of how we want to play.
“Of course, the key will be to hurt them when we have possession, but it’s not only on the wings. We have to be patient with the ball, and to find where we can go through on the sides or in the centre.
“We’ve proven that we can hurt any team, and that’s the goal. But I’m not going to go into too many details.”
Three in a row?
France will be aiming to reach a third consecutive World Cup semi-final when they take on Morocco at Boston Stadium on Thursday.
Les Bleus lifted the trophy in 2018 and were runners-up in 2022, going down to Lionel Messi‘s Argentina after overcoming Morocco in the semi-finals.
