France vs Morocco FIFA World Cup 2026 Preview: Everything you need to know

World Cup - Final Stage

Boston Stadium

France vs Morocco will kick off on 9 Jul 2026 at 16:00 EST and 21:00 GMT.

France vs Morocco World Cup quarter-final preview

French will be the language spoken on the pitch when France and Morocco lock horns for a place in the World Cup semi-final, in a repeat of the 2022 World Cup final four clash. Will the tournament favourites get the better of Africa's finest in Boston?

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How did France and Morocco get here?

France cruised through their first four games, blowing teams away with their bristling attacking unit. However, Didier Deschamps' side had to grind out a fiery 1-0 win over Paraguay in the last 16, perhaps showing a steelier side to their game. Les Bleus are now unbeaten in 12 competitive matches (W11, D1), winning the last seven. If they win an eighth on the bounce, they'll become only the third nation to ever reach three consecutive World Cup semi-finals.

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Morocco put co-hosts Canada to the sword in the last 16, claiming a 3-0 win despite only mustering four shots on target. The Atlas Lions will be out to avenge their 2022 semi-final defeat against these opponents. They're unbeaten in 10 matches since the AFCON final, so they'll be confident they can upset the odds.

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Mbappé chases history

France skipper Kylian Mbappé is one of two players in history to score seven or more goals in two separate World Cups, after his penalty against Paraguay. The other man, of course, goes by the name of Lionel Messi. Mbappé would dearly love to add to his overall tally of 19 WC goals to pull him level with Messi's 20.

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Ounahi finds his touch in the nick of time

Girona midfielder Azzedine Ounahi found his goal-scoring touch in timely fashion with his brace against the Canucks, to end an 11-game streak without a goal at the finals. All eight of his international scoring appearances came in wins for the Atlas Lions, the last seven of which were accompanied by a clean sheet. Ounahi could be pivotal here with his eye for goal, considering that focal point striker Ismael Saibari is a major doubt with a hamstring injury. The new Bayern Munich man came off after 22 minutes against Canada and has three goals at this World Cup.

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Likely France XI

Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Rabiot, Tchouaméni; Olise, Dembélé, Doué; Mbappé.

Likely Morocco XI

Bounou; Hakimi, Diop, Halhal, Mazraoui; El Aynaoui, Bouaddi; Diaz, Ounahi, El Khannouss; Saibari.

France vs Morocco facts & figures

• Thirteen of France’s last 16 wins came by 2+ goal margins.
• France boss Didier Deschamps takes charge of a record-equalling 25th match at the finals here.
• Seven of Morocco’s last nine World Cup defeats came by a one-goal margin.
• Morocco has been given one or fewer yellow cards in four of their five games at this World Cup.
• France's Michael Olise has eight goal involvements in his last six appearances for Les Bleus (G3, A5), with those five assists all coming at this World Cup and leaving him just three short of the all-time competition record.

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France 26-man squad

Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Robin Risser (Lens), Brice Samba (Rennes).

Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (Paris St-Germain), Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich).

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante (Fenerbahçe), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris St-Germain).

Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Bradley Barcola (Paris St-Germain), Rayan Cherki (Man City), Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain), Desire Doue (Paris St-Germain), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan).

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Morocco 26-man squad

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal), Munir Mohamedi (RS Berkane), Ahmed Tagnaouti (Royal Armed Forces)

Defenders: Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV Eindhoven), Youssef Belammari (Al Ahly), Chadi Riad (Crystal Palace), Issa Diop (West Ham United), Redouane Halhal (KV Mechelen), Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain), Zakaria El Ouahdi (Genk), Marwane Saadane (Al-Fateh)

Midfielders: Samir El Mourabet (Strasbourg), Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille), Neil El Aynaoui (Roma), Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis), Azzedine Ounahi (Girona), Bilal El Khannouss (Stuttgart), Ismael Saibari (PSV Eindhoven)

Forwards: Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Yassine Gessime (Strasbourg), Ayoub Amaimouni-Echghouyabe (Eintracht Frankfurt), Amine Sbai (Angers)

Withdrawals: Nayef Aguerd (Marseille), Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Real Betis).

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Team news & squads

France vs Morocco Probable lineups

France

FRA

Formation

Morocco

MAR

Morocco

MAR

Manager

• D. Deschamps

Form

FRA - Form

AllHome

W3-1

W3-0

W1-4

W3-0

W0-1

Goal Scored (Conceded)

14/2

Games over 2.5 goals

4/5

Both teams scored

2/5

MAR - Form

AllAway

D1-1

W0-1

W4-2

W1-1

W0-3

Goal Scored (Conceded)

10/4

Games over 2.5 goals

2/5

Both teams scored

3/5

Head-to-Head Record

FRA

Last 3 matches

MAR

2

Wins

1

Draw

0

Wins

• France

  2

  -

  0

  Morocco

• France

  2

  -

  2

  Morocco

• Morocco

  1

  -

  5

  France

9

Goals scored

3

Games over 2.5 goals

2/3

Both teams scored

2/3

The most recent meeting between these two sides came at the 2022 FIFA World Cup on December 14, when France won 2-0 in the semifinal in Qatar. Before that, the teams drew 2-2 in a friendly in November 2007. The last three recorded meetings in this dataset show France with two wins and one draw, with the 2022 World Cup result the most recent and most significant context for this quarter-final.

Standings

Morocco finished second in Group C, while France topped Group I with a perfect record.