Morocco has made two adjustments to their starting lineup following their victory against Canada. Anass Salah-Eddine steps in for Redouane Halhal in defense, while Chemsdine Talbi takes over for the injured striker Ismael Saibari.
France, on the other hand, has one change to their starting eleven after their previous match against Paraguay. Désiré Doué replaces his PSG teammate Bradley Barcola on the left side.
The starting lineup for France includes: Maignan, Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne, Kone, Rabiot, Dembele, Olise, Doué, and Mbappe. Their substitutes are Samba, Gusto, Tchouameni, Thuram, Kante, Konate, Zaire Emery, Theo Hernandez, Lucas Hernandez, Mateta, Risser, Cherki, Akliouche, Lacroix, and Barcola.
For Morocco, the lineup features: Bounou, Hakimi, Diop, Mazraoui, Salah-Eddine, Bouaddi, El Aynaoui, Diaz, Ounahi, Talbi, and El Khannous. Their bench includes Mohamedi, Tagnaouti, Amrabat, Saadane, Saibari, El Ouahdi, El Mourabet, Yassine, Sbai, Belammari, El Kaabi, Amaimouni-Echghouyab, Halhal, Riad, and Rahimi.
The match will be officiated by referee Facundo Tello Figueroa from Argentina.
Historically, Morocco has faced France six times without a victory, recording two draws and four losses, having scored six goals and conceded fourteen. However, one of those draws was against a formidable French side featuring legends like Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry, in a match that ended in a penalty shootout victory for Morocco after a 2-2 tie.
During the group stage, Morocco stood out in Group C, although they did not win the group due to a failure to defeat Brazil. They quickly dispatched Scotland within 70 seconds and eventually triumphed over Haiti with a score of 4-2.
In the knockout rounds, Morocco faced a tough challenge against the Netherlands but came through. They then took their time warming up against Canada before decisively eliminating the co-hosts from the tournament.
France navigated through Group I with relative ease. They overcame a tough match against Senegal and managed to handle a two-hour weather delay against Iraq, followed by a convincing win over Norway B, fueled by Ousmane Dembélé’s rapid first-half hat trick.
The knockout stage has been unpredictable, leading to this significant quarter-final matchup.
Today’s match echoes the 2022 semi-final, where France was favored to easily defeat Morocco, but the Atlas Lions proved to be formidable opponents. Since that encounter, Morocco has claimed the African championship and is now ranked as the sixth-best team globally.
While France is once again expected to secure the win, the dynamics have shifted. Both teams harbor ambitions of victory, with Morocco also seeking retribution. The stage is set for an exciting encounter as the match kicks off at 4 PM in Boston (9 PM BST/6 AM AEST). Let the game begin!
- World Cup 2026
- World Cup
- France
- Morocco football team
