Can Morocco Get Revenge: France vs Morocco World Cup 2026

France vs Morocco at World Cup 2026 is the quarterfinal rematch nobody wanted to wait four years for. The same two nations. The same stage.
A completely different Morocco. In 2022, France won 2-0 in the semifinal and ended the greatest African World Cup run in history. 

Now Morocco are back at the quarterfinal stage for the second consecutive tournament, and they have unfinished business with Les Bleus. Gillette Stadium in Boston hosts this one on July 10, and the atmosphere will be electric.

Match Details

Date	July 10 2026
Kickoff	1am PKT / 4pm ET / 9pm BST
Stadium	Gillette Stadium Boston
Tournament	FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarterfinal

Team News

Aurelien Tchouameni is likely to miss the match with a thigh injury, with Manu Kone set to continue in the double pivot alongside Adrien Rabiot. Desire Doue is expected to replace Bradley Barcola on the left wing. 

The rest of France’s lineup picks itself, with Maignan in goal, Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, and Digne across the back four, and Mbappe leading the attack.

Morocco are set to be without Ismael Saibari, who was withdrawn early against Canada with a hamstring strain, leaving Soufiane Rahimi to start up front.
Chadi Riad has had more time to recover from his knock and is expected to return to partner Issa Diop at centre back, with Redouane Halhal making way. Hakimi and Mazraoui continue as fullbacks with Bounou in goal. 

El Aynaoui and Bouaddi maintain the double pivot with Ounahi, Diaz and El Khannouss behind Rahimi.

Expected Lineups

France (4-2-3-1):

GK: Mike Maignan
RB: Jules Kounde
CB: Dayot Upamecano
CB: William Saliba
LB: Lucas Digne
CDM: Manu Kone
CDM: Adrien Rabiot
RW: Ousmane Dembele
CAM: Michael Olise
LW: Desire Doue
ST: Kylian Mbappe

Morocco (4-2-3-1):

GK: Yassine Bounou
RB: Achraf Hakimi
CB: Issa Diop
CB: Chadi Riad
LB: Noussair Mazraoui
CDM: Neil El Aynaoui
CDM: Ayyoub Bouaddi
RW: Brahim Diaz
CAM: Azzedine Ounahi
LW: Bilal El Khannouss
ST: Soufiane Rahimi

Head to Head

France and Morocco have met eight times in total, with France winning five and Morocco having never beaten France in a competitive match. Their most significant meeting came at the 2022 World Cup semifinal, where France won 2-0 through Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani. 

Match	Competition	Result
France vs Morocco	World Cup 2022 Semifinal	France win 2-0
France vs Morocco	Friendly 2007	Draw 2-2

Key Players

Kylian Mbappe has 7 goals at this World Cup and is joint top of the Golden Boot race alongside Messi and Haaland. He is France’s captain, their best player and the one man Morocco will organise their entire defensive structure around. 

Morocco’s defensive structure will be built around limiting Mbappe’s pace and movement in behind, making him the key player to watch.

Azzedine Ounahi’s movement between the lines and his ability to receive and turn under pressure is Morocco’s most dangerous individual attacking quality. 

He scored twice against Canada and has been Morocco’s most creative player throughout the tournament. France will need Kone and Rabiot at their very best to limit his influence. 

Achraf Hakimi is Morocco’s captain and their most dangerous attacking outlet from right back. His partnership with Brahim Diaz on the right side has been one of the most effective in the tournament. 

France’s Digne on the left will have a very difficult evening if Hakimi is given space to bomb forward.

Michael Olise has been one of the players of the tournament for France with five assists in six matches. 

Olise has eight goal involvements in his last six appearances for Les Bleus and is just three short of the all-time World Cup assists record. Morocco’s left side will need to be extremely disciplined to contain him. 

Tactical Analysis

Both sides line up in a 4-2-3-1 and both prefer controlling possession and building patiently from the back. This is one of the most evenly matched tactical contests of the tournament.

France’s high press needs to be precise because Ouahbi’s double pivot of El Aynaoui and Bouaddi are very good at playing through pressure and finding Ounahi or Hakimi in wide channels. If the press is not coordinated, Morocco will find pockets of space and punish France on the counter through Hakimi and El Khannouss’s pace.

The loss of Saibari up front is Morocco’s biggest concern. Without him, Morocco will be more reliant on Ounahi dropping deep and Hakimi overlapping to create chances. Rahimi is capable, but Saibari’s ability to link play was central to everything Morocco do going forward.

Conclusion

France have the edge here. Their attacking quality is simply too varied and too dangerous for Morocco to contain for 90 minutes without Saibari leading the line. Mbappe, Olise and Dembele can hurt any defence in the world and Morocco have lost their most effective striker at the worst possible time.

But Morocco have already beaten the Netherlands on penalties and beaten Canada 3-0. They are on a 34-match unbeaten run, and they have proven throughout this tournament that they cannot be written off. If Ounahi has a big night and Hakimi creates chaos down the right, Morocco can make this extremely uncomfortable for France.

France go through, but Morocco will not make it easy. This one goes deep before Les Bleus find the winner.

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This is GoalVerdict's editorial analysis based on squad quality, form and tactics — not betting advice.