France and Morocco will revive their World Cup rivalry on Wednesday as they battle for a place in the semi-finals, with the encounter bringing back memories of their 2022 last-four meeting, which Les Bleus won 2-0.
The match in Boston is expected to be a fascinating contest, with French the dominant language shared by many players on both sides, adding another layer to the clash between the European giants and Africa’s leading representatives.
France have looked among the strongest teams at the tournament, winning all four of their opening matches before edging Paraguay 1-0 in a hard-fought Round of 16 contest.
Didier Deschamps’ men have now gone 12 competitive matches unbeaten, recording 11 wins and one draw, including seven consecutive victories.
Another win would send France into a third straight World Cup semi-final, making them only the third nation to achieve that feat.
Morocco, meanwhile, produced an impressive display to defeat co-hosts Canada 3-0 in the Round of 16 despite managing only four shots on target.
The Atlas Lions are unbeaten in their last 10 matches since losing the AFCON final and will be eager to avenge their semi-final defeat to France four years ago.
Captain Kylian Mbappé remains France’s biggest attacking threat. His penalty against Paraguay took his tally to seven goals across two separate World Cup tournaments, a feat previously achieved only by Lionel Messi.
The Real Madrid forward now has 19 World Cup goals and is just one behind Messi’s all-time total of 20.
Morocco will look to Girona midfielder Azzedine Ounahi for inspiration after his brace against Canada ended an 11-match goal drought at the World Cup.
Notably, every international match in which Ounahi has scored has ended in victory for Morocco, with the last seven also producing clean sheets.
The North Africans, however, face a fitness concern over striker Ismael Saibari, who was forced off with a hamstring problem after just 22 minutes against Canada.
The Bayern Munich forward has already scored three goals at the tournament and remains a major doubt.
France’s likely starting XI includes Mike Maignan in goal; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba and Lucas Digne in defence; Adrien Rabiot and Aurélien Tchouaméni in midfield; Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué supporting Mbappé in attack.
Morocco are expected to line up with Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Redouane Halhal and Noussair Mazraoui across the back; Neil El Aynaoui and Ayyoub Bouaddi in midfield; Brahim Diaz, Ounahi and Bilal El Khannouss behind Saibari, should he recover in time.
France have won 13 of their last 16 matches by at least a two-goal margin, while Deschamps is set to equal the record by taking charge of his 25th World Cup match.
Morocco, on the other hand, have suffered seven of their last nine World Cup defeats by a single-goal margin and have maintained impressive discipline, receiving one or fewer yellow cards in four of their five matches at this tournament.
The teams last met in the 2022 World Cup semi-final, where France secured a 2-0 victory. Their previous meeting ended in a 2-2 draw in an international friendly in 2007.
France advanced to the knockout stage after finishing top of Group I with a perfect record, while Morocco qualified as runners-up in Group C.
