France vs Morocco: World Cup 2026 quarter-final preview
France and Morocco meet again in the World Cup 2026 quarter-finals on Thursday in Boston. Preview, form, likely line-ups and what's at stake.
The World Cup 2026 quarter-finals kick off on Thursday, 9 July, with the tie half of Europe and all of North Africa wanted to see: France vs Morocco, in Boston. It’s a rematch of the Qatar 2022 semi-final, when France won 2-0 on their way to the final — and Morocco has not forgotten.
What time is France vs Morocco and where to watch?
Kick-off is 4pm local in Boston (9pm in Lisbon) on Thursday at Gillette Stadium. It’s the first of the four quarter-finals, followed by Spain-Belgium on Friday and Norway-England and Argentina-Switzerland on Saturday.
What kind of form are they in?
France arrive roaring: 14 goals in five games, Kylian Mbappé already on seven and Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise slicing defences open. They won their group with a perfect record and brushed Sweden aside 3-0 before grinding past Paraguay 1-0 in the last 16. Morocco are the opposite kind of dangerous — not the flashiest, but still unbeaten. They held Brazil (1-1), beat Scotland and, in the round of 16, came from behind to sink Haiti 4-2 thanks to an Azzedine Ounahi brace and a stoppage-time Soufiane Rahimi finish.
Who reaches the semi-finals?
The winner goes to the semi-final on 14 July in Dallas, against the winner of Spain-Belgium — meaning the side that knocked Portugal out, or the Belgium team that thumped the USA. Portugal are watching from the sofa now, but this is exactly the kind of game you tune in for anyway: France’s attacking machine against Morocco’s wall, the Bleus clear favourites, and 2022 still hanging in the air. We’re tracking it all in our daily World Cup log; the official schedule is on FIFA.
By Vasco Almada
Image: Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)