France vs Morocco: World Cup quarterfinal – prediction, start time, lineups

Three wins to go. How tin your squad scope the last and triumph the World Cup 2026? Click here to find out.

Who: France vs Morocco
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 – Quarterfinals
Where: Boston Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, the United States
When: Thursday, July 9, astatine 4pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: We volition person each the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT earlier our unrecorded substance commentary stream.

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The 2026 World Cup rolls into the quarterfinal stage, kicking disconnected with a blockbuster conflict betwixt rubric favourites France and African champions Morocco.

France, two-time satellite champions and the 2022 edition’s runners-up, person been the astir well-balanced squad successful the shot tourney successful North America, scoring a whopping 14 goals portion leaking lone 2 en way to a cleanable 5 wins retired of five.

Spearheaded by Golden Boot leader Kylian Mbappe, and boasting a tantalising trio of Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola, France person arguably the astir lethal and enviable attacking portion successful the tournament.

But the adjacent situation successful their bid for a 3rd satellite rubric is acold from easy.

The French are up against Ismael Saibari and Brahim Diaz’s Morocco, who stunned the Netherlands successful the knockouts and volition beryllium anxious to instrumentality down different European giant.

The Atlas Lions, nary longer challengers but contenders, are looking to scope back-to-back semifinals for the archetypal clip successful history.

Al Jazeera tells you everything astir France vs Morocco:

How did France and Morocco scope the quarterfinals?

France topped Group I with a cleanable grounds of 9 points, winning against Norway, Senegal and Iraq. They thrashed Sweden 3-0 successful the circular of 32 earlier beating a stubborn Paraguay broadside 1-0 successful the last-16.

Morocco came 2nd successful Group C with 7 points, securing victories implicit Scotland and Haiti, and a gully with Brazil. They began their knockout run with a thrilling 3-2 punishment shootout triumph implicit the Netherlands successful the last-32 earlier smashing Canada 3-0 successful the circular of 16.

Morocco: Not simply challengers, but superior rubric contenders

Four years agone successful Qatar – erstwhile Morocco stunned Spain and Portugal to go the archetypal African and Arab federation to scope the World Cup semifinals – they earned the estimation of challengers.

But since then, the Atlas Lions person roared their mode to the top, not conscionable astatine the continental level but connected the satellite stage.

As winners of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and buoyed by a 34-match unbeaten streak, FIFA satellite fig six-ranked Morocco caput into Thursday’s clash not conscionable to propulsion disconnected an upset, but to continue their promising bid for a maiden satellite title.

Morocco’s guardant Brahim Diaz and teammates observe aft winning the circular of 16 lucifer against Canada astatine the Houston Stadium successful Texas successful the US [Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP]

“We’re nary longer a astonishment today, and that’s a large root of pride,” said Morocco manager Mohamed Ouahbi, who took implicit 4 months ago.

“I deliberation this is lone the beginning, and I anticipation we’ll support producing this benignant of tally for galore years.”

World-class winger Brahim Diaz has been 1 of Morocco’s heroes astatine the World Cup, acknowledgment to his 4 assists, portion striker Ismael Saibari leads the goal-scoring charts with three. Soufiane Rahimi and Azzedine Ounahi person besides contributed, with 2 goals apiece.

Saibari, who scored successful each of the 3 radical games and struck the winning punishment against the Dutch, has been ruled out of the quarterfinal, dealing a immense stroke to Morocco.

The 25-year-old, 1 of the standout players of the tournament, came disconnected aboriginal successful the archetypal fractional successful the past crippled with a hamstring wounded and has not recovered successful clip to look France.

France uncovering antithetic ways to win

Mbappe’s 7 goals successful 5 games person strengthened France’s bid for the 2026 title, portion besides keeping him successful rod presumption to go the archetypal subordinate to triumph the Golden Boot much than once.

But for each their swashbuckling swagger, Les Blues had to scrap their mode past a rugged Paraguay side with precise small extortion from the lucifer officials.

The crippled was acold from pretty, but France got the occupation done, demonstrating that Didier Deschamps’s broadside possesses some the steely determination and bonzer endowment to go satellite champions.

French midfielder Manu Kone and Paraguayan guardant Gustavo Caballero combat for the shot [Charly Triballeau/ AFP]

“I deliberation that playing a lucifer similar that astatine this signifier of the tourney was fruitful ‌for us, due to the fact that it gives answers astir what the players are susceptible of successful the look of that benignant of adversity,” France’s adjunct manager Guy Stephan told reporters connected Monday.

“It was a time erstwhile it would person been casual to suffer control, and cipher mislaid control. So that is inactive impervious of maturity, adjacent if they are young players.”

Stephan knows Morocco volition airs a acold antithetic situation from Paraguay, describing the North Africans arsenic a “well-organised, well-structured team” who are arsenic awesome successful transition.

“They besides person idiosyncratic strengths, whether connected the close broadside oregon the near broadside … It’s undeniably a prime team,” helium said.

France vs Morocco prediction

The Opta supercomputer gives France a 61.7 percent likelihood of winning successful regularisation time, portion Morocco’s chances of winning are 16.2 percent.

The exemplary estimates a 22.1 percent probability of the crippled going to other time.

France vs Morocco: How to watch, lucifer schedule

• France: beIN SPORTS 1 (10pm, Central European Summer Time)
• Morocco: beIN SPORTS (9pm, Western European Summer Time)
• United States: Peacock, Fox, Fox One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network (4pm, Eastern Daylight Time)
• United Kingdom: BBC One, BBC iPlayer (9pm, British Summer Time)

To cheque the TV listings for your country, caput to FIFA’s TV listing schedule here.

Morocco’s guardant Soufiane Rahimi poses for a photograph with fans [Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP]

Who volition the victor look successful the semifinals?

The victor of the France vs Morocco lucifer volition play Spain oregon Belgium successful the semifinals successful Dallas, Texas successful the US connected July 14.

France vs Morocco: Head-to-head

The past clip Morocco met France was erstwhile the Atlas Lions made their maiden World Cup semifinal appearance. It dates backmost to December 2022, and Morocco suffered a 2-0 defeat.

Overall, they person met six times, with France winning 4 matches portion 2 ended successful a draw.

France vs Morocco: Team news

Morocco guardant Saibari is retired with a hamstring injury and could beryllium replaced with Rahimi successful the lineup.

France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is doubtful owed to an adductor wounded helium sustained earlier the circular of 16.

Three France players – Olise, Barcola and Manu Kone – were booked successful the past crippled and hazard receiving a prohibition should they prime up different yellowish paper against Morocco.

France’s predicted lineup

(4-2-3-1): Maignan (goalkeeper); Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Kone, Rabiot; Dembele, Olise, Barcola; Mbappe

Morocco’s predicted lineup

(4-2-3-1): Bounou (goalkeeper); Hakimi, Diop, Riad, Mazraoui; El Aynaoui, Bouaddi; Diaz, Ounahi, El Khannouss; Rahimi

Morocco and Real Madrid attacking midfielder Brahim Diaz has dished retired 4 assists astatine the 2026 World Cup [Mauro Pimentel/AFP]