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France and Morocco secured their spots in the quarter-finals of the this Saturday and will face each other in the next round, which promises to be one of the most exciting matchups of the tournament.
The Atlas Lions were the first to confirm their qualification by thrashing 3-0 Canada at NRG Stadium in Houston, while the French needed a penalty from Kylian Mbappé to narrowly defeat Paraguay, who made things difficult for them in Philadelphia.
Mbappé saves France at the last gasp
The match at Lincoln Financial Field was an exercise in patience for the French. Paraguay, coming off the feat of eliminating Germany in penalties in the round of 16, repeated its script of organized resistance under the guidance of Gustavo Alfaro and contained the French offensive power for much of the match.
The VAR was the turning point of the match: Diego Gómez committed a penalty on Desiré Doué, and Mbappé did not miss from the spot to score the only goal of the game.
With that goal, the French captain reached seven goals in the tournament, tying with Messi as the top scorer of the 2026 World Cup, and raised his historical record in World Cups to 10 goals.
France, which finished the group stage with a perfect score —nine points and +8 in goal difference— and eliminated Sweden 3-0 in the Round of 32, still has its title aspirations intact.
A rematch pending since Qatar 2022
The matchup between France and Morocco in the quarter-finals has a direct precedent: the semi-final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where the French team won 2-0 with goals from Theo Hernández and Randal Kolo Muani.
Morocco, which in that edition became the first African team to reach the semifinals of a World Cup, enters this match with the ambition to go further than ever and to seek revenge against the same opponent that halted their dream four years ago.
Morocco crushes Canada without mercy
The team led by Mohamed Ouahbi left no chance for the American host. After a scoreless first half, Azzedine Ounahi took charge: he opened the scoring in the 50th minute and extended the lead in the 82nd with his double. When Canada pushed forward in search of a goal, Soufiane Rahimi took advantage of the space to seal the rout in the 90th minute with a counterattack.
Morocco reaches the quarter-finals as one of the most consistent teams in the tournament, after leading Group C undefeated with seven points and eliminating the Netherlands in penalties in the round of 16.
Canada, which made history by qualifying for the round of 16 for the first time thanks to a last-minute goal from Stephen Eustáquio against South Africa, could not maintain its dream against the strong Moroccan team.
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