A Guide to France Vs Morocco at World Cup 2026
We have finally arrived at the business end of this year’s World Cup. 8 teams left, 4 to progress. First up, its France taking on Morocco…
Our first quarter-final kicks off on Thursday 9th July, between tournament favourites France, and the consistently brilliant Morocco. France are boasting one of the greatest attacking lines in international football history, with the mainstays of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele, alongside their support act of Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki. This plethora of options doesn’t even include the likes of Marcus Thuram, Magnes Akliouche and Jean-Phillipe Mateta who have barely had the chance to feature!
France’s formiddable goalscorers, supported by their playmaker
Kylian Mbappe (right), Ousmane Dembele (middle), Michael Olise (left/background)
Clearly this relentless forward talent will be difficult to stop, but we’re not here to just state the obvious. Morocco will be looking for their own ways to get behind their opponents, so how can they accomplish this? Well, with the loss of their top scorer Ismael Saibari, the weight of goals will fall on others. Soufiane Rahimi is a consistent scorer for his club, Al-Ain, and expected to start in Saibari’s place. Morocco operate with a versatile 3 behind the striker, where Diaz creates from deep with team-captain Achraf Hakimi storming beyond him. Azzedine Ounahi, who registered the first 2 goals in Morocco’s 3-0 win over Canada, is free to drift into favourable areas, with Stuttgart’s Bilal El-Khannouss occupying the left side of the field.
Didier Deschamps may be forced to change current starter Lucas Digne for the much faster Theo Hernandez, who plays with a greater intensity to deal with the PSG right-back. Digne has played 66 minutes more than his left-back counterpart, however Hernandez has covered more ground, with 8 more sprints and a higher top-speed. Additionally, Digne is known for his lack of intensity in transition, especially against superior wide players. Hakimi could prove decisive in this game, against a largely untested French defence.
Furthermore, the consensus amongst the media is that Aurelien Tchouameni will not start for France, but is fit enough to feature…
Tchouameni’s (left) key defensive stats against Kone’s (right) via Gradient
Tchouameni’s (left) key defensive stats against Rabiot’s (right) via Gradient
Can Morocco look to exploit such a loss, as Manu Kone and Adrien Rabiot do not possess the same defensive qualities as the Madridista, possibly being caught out my Morocco’s quick breakaways and attacking combinations? It’ll be exciting to see how much of a stir the African Champions can make this time around, after losing 2-0 to the French in the semis at Qatar 2022. Their squad is arguably more balanced in this tournament, having attained the experience of Issa Diop, an ex-France U21 defender, alongside the high-level talents of Neil El Aynaoui and Ayyoub Bouaddi, the world’s most exciting teenage midfielder.
Both of these midfielders will be expected to support the defensive line and cut out early passes to France’s danger men, possibly starting counter-attacks with their respective interception, ball-carrying and distribution attributes. El Aynaoui’s 35 defensive contributions at this World Cup rank in the 98th percentile, whilst his interception rate ranks in the 92nd. Partnering him, Lille’s prodigy also ranks in the 92nd percentile, but for accurate long balls in Ligue 1 this past season, whilst his ball retention skills are off the scale. It will be crucial for head coach Mohamed Ouahbi and his team that this pairing excels in their upcoming fixture.
It’s France’s game to lose, but Morocco are not to be underestimated. Moving up to 6th in the FIFA World Rankings, ‘The Atlas Lions’ are now cemented as an international giant, consistently going far in tournaments and impressing on the biggest stage.
Can they do it tonight? We’ll have to wait and see…
