France, Mbappe play Morocco in FIFA World Cup quarterfinal: What we know
Key talking points as Kylian Mbappe leads France into a rematch with Morocco after Les Bleus beat the Atlas Lions in the 2022 World Cup
Key talking points as Kylian Mbappe leads France into a rematch with Morocco after Les Bleus beat the Atlas Lions in the 2022 World Cup. France will face Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals at Foxborough Stadium, outside Boston in the US, on Thursday in a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semifinal won by Les Bleus. France have been this tournament’s finest team so far, playing some scintillating football on their way to reaching the last 16 – although they required a Kylian Mbappe penalty to break down a stubborn Paraguay side and eke out a 1-0 win in the second knockout phase. The Atlas Lions were impressive as they bossed Canada to win 3-0 in the round of 16, and they strolled through their group with a draw against Brazil and comfortable wins over Haiti and Scotland. It makes for an intriguing quarterfinal. Al Jazeera looks at the key talking points ahead of the clash. Loaded history between France and Morocco France ended Morocco’s fairytale run at Qatar 2022 by beating them 2-0 in the semifinals, before they went on to lose in the final against Argentina. Four years on, France are still the firm favourites to prevail, but now Morocco are also considered genuine World Cup contenders as the Atlas Lions have firmly established themselves as a force in world football. “We’re no longer a surprise today, and that’s a great source of pride,” Morocco’s coach Mohamed Ouahbi said after his side beat Canada 3-0 in the last 16.
“I think this is only the beginning, and I hope we’ll keep producing this kind of run for many years.” Ouahbi insists that revenge against France is not Morocco’s main motivation. “We want to go as far as possible and make our people proud,” he said. But the Atlas Lions would surely take an extra thrill in dispatching the French side after the 2022 defeat, as well as in defeating their former colonisers. The two countries share an often fraught history as Morocco was a French colony for several decades in the 20th century, and France has a more than 700,000-strong population of Moroccan origin. 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 is joint-top of the Golden Boot table alongside Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. Les Bleus also boast the reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, who scored a hat-trick against Norway in the group stages, as well as several other world-class attacking talents. But Morocco are a compact and disciplined side that will fancy their chances of stymying France’s attack – especially as Paraguay managed to frustrate the French so successfully. The African nation can rely on the likes of goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who seems to save his very best performances for the World Cup, and Achraf Hakimi, arguably the best right-back in the world, as well as solid centre-backs and a midfield that works hard to screen the defence.
The BriefWire