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The quarter-finals of the kick off this Thursday with a high-stakes match: France and Morocco face off at 16:00 Cuba time at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, with a spot in the semi-finals at stake.
The match has a history that no fan forgets: the semifinal of Qatar 2022, when the French defeated the Atlas Lions 2-0 with goals from Theo Hernández in the fifth minute and Randal Kolo Muani in the 79th, frustrating Morocco's dream of becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup final.
Four years later, the reunion arrives with the same desire for revenge on one side and the same ambition to establish itself as a power on the other.
France arrives at this crossing as one of the top favorites for the title, with five wins in five matches and having conceded not a single defeat in the tournament.
The team of Didier Deschamps overcame Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16 thanks to a penalty from Kylian Mbappé in the 70th minute, and in the group stage, they dominated with a perfect record: 3-1 against Senegal, 3-0 against Iraq, and 4-1 against Norway.
Mbappé has accumulated seven goals and two assists in the tournament, placing him at the forefront of the race for the Golden Boot of the 2026 World Cup alongside Messi and Haaland, although FIFA's tiebreaker criterion—assists—gives him an advantage over his rivals.
Morocco, led by Mohamed Ouahbi, approaches the match with the belief that their achievements in Qatar were not a coincidence.
The Atlas Lions defeated Canada 3-0 in the round of 16 with a brace from Azzedine Ounahi and a goal from Soufiane Rahimi, and they had previously eliminated the Netherlands in penalties in the round of 32.
Achraf Hakimi continues to be the driving force of the team, while Brahim Díaz has recorded four assists in the tournament and has become a key player in the Moroccan offense.
The referee of the match will be the Argentine Facundo Tello, and the winner will await the victor of the match between Spain and Belgium, scheduled for Friday, July 10, at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
The other two quarter-finals will take place on Saturday, July 11: Norway vs. England at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami (5:00 PM Cuba) and Argentina vs. Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City (9:00 PM Cuba).
Morocco aims to surpass the World Cup semifinal barrier for the first time in its history, while France, the runner-up after losing to Argentina in the final of Qatar 2022, is chasing the title that slipped away four years ago.
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