France and Morocco meet at Boston Stadium on Thursday evening in a World Cup quarter-final rematch of their 2022 semi-final, with a place in the last four against Spain or Belgium at stake.Four years ago in Qatar, France won that tie 2–0, ending Morocco’s remarkable run and setting up the greatest World Cup final in the tournament’s history. Both nations have evolved since. France are the only team at this tournament yet to fall behind and have scored 14 goals across five consecutive wins.Morocco are unbeaten in 34 matches, have reached consecutive World Cup quarter-finals for the first time as an African nation, and arrive having beaten the Netherlands on penalties and Canada 3–0 in the knockout rounds. That record is significant. So is Morocco’s history in this fixture: they have never beaten France in six previous meetings.France vs Morocco – Match preview and team newsDate: Thursday, 9 July 2026Kick-off: 21:00 BSTVenue: Boston StadiumReferee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)Last meeting: France 2–0 Morocco, 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalTeam newsFranceDeschamps receives one notable fitness boost and one confirmed absence. Aurélien Tchouaméni has not returned to training since the adductor injury that kept him out of the Paraguay win, and is unlikely to feature. Manu Koné of Roma continues in his place alongside Adrien Rabiot of AC Milan in the double pivot.Marcus Thuram of Inter Milan, absent against Paraguay with a calf problem, has returned to training and is available from the bench. Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola and Manu Koné each carry a yellow card into this match — a second booking for any of them would mean a semi-final suspension. France’s appeal against Olise’s yellow card was rejected by FIFA before Thursday’s match.MoroccoMohamed Ouahbi confirmed at Wednesday’s pre-match press conference that Saibari will not play. The Bayern Munich forward, who scored three goals in the group stage and converted the decisive penalty against the Netherlands, suffered a hamstring injury in the 22nd minute of the Canada win and has not recovered in time.Soufiane Rahimi of Al Ain, who came on as his replacement and scored in stoppage time against Canada, starts up front. Chadi Riad is also a doubt with a knee injury — he missed the Canada match entirely and his involvement here is uncertain, with Redouane Halhal the likely replacement at centre-back. Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Redouane Halhal and Bilal El Khannouss all carry yellow cards into this fixture.FormFranceDeschamps’ side have been the tournament’s most relentless attacking force. Three goals or more in each of their first four matches — beating Senegal 3–1, Iraq 3–0 and Norway 4–1 in the group, then Sweden 3–0 in the last 32 — were followed by a harder-fought 1–0 win over Paraguay in the last 16, where Désiré Doué won the penalty that Mbappe converted.France are yet to concede a goal in the knockout rounds and have not trailed at any point in the tournament. Mbappe has seven goals, one behind Messi and level with Haaland in the Golden Boot standings. Michael Olise leads all players at the tournament with five assists, three of which have produced Mbappe goals.MoroccoOuahbi’s side have taken a different path to Boston. A 1–1 draw with Brazil in the group opener — Saibari’s lobbed finish drawing widespread admiration — was followed by wins over Scotland and Haiti. The Netherlands provided the stiffest test: Morocco needed Issa Diop’s 91st-minute header to level at 1–1 before winning the penalty shootout 3–2.Against Canada in the last 16, they were slow to start but produced three second-half goals, Ounahi’s brace settling the tie before Rahimi added a third in stoppage time. Brahim Díaz of AC Milan, with four assists at this tournament, holds the all-time African record for assists in a single World Cup. His understanding with Hakimi on the right provides Morocco’s most potent source of creativity.Predicted lineupsFrance predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Kone, Rabiot; Dembele, Olise, Barcola; MbappeMorocco predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Bounou; Hakimi, Diop, Riad, Mazraoui; El Aynaoui, Bouaddi; Diaz, Ounahi, El Khannouss; RahimiHow to watch France vs Morocco?The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on ITV1, ITVX and STV. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Read more – Aston Villa’s Onana suffers ACL injury at World CupSee Also- Newcastle dig in to block Bruno Guimaraes move to ArsenalFollow the Football Faithful on Social Media:Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTokThe post France vs Morocco – Match preview and team news first appeared on The Football Faithful.