Saibari ruled out as France face Morocco in World Cup quarterfinal

France–Morocco quarterfinal Thursday night

The 2022 World Cup semifinal gets a sequel. France face Morocco in a 2026 quarterfinal on Thursday, with a place in the last four at stake (1) (3) (5) (6). Two years ago your team won that semi 2–0. Morocco want payback.

Saibari out, Morocco's top scorer misses the match

Morocco will be without Ismael Saibari. The midfielder, their top scorer in this tournament, has been ruled out with a muscle injury (2) (4) (8). Team doctor Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed it: "Alle sind verfügbar außer Saibari", everyone is available except Saibari (2).

Deschamps wants sharper finishing

Didier Deschamps kept his pre-match message simple. "We have to be efficient, offensively speaking," he said (7). FIFA also rejected an appeal over Michael Olise's yellow card, so he carries that into the quarterfinal (7).

Morocco coach feeling calm

Mohamed Ouahbi is not rattled. "J'ai peut-être eu un peu plus de craintes contre le Canada," he said, but ahead of France he is "très serein", very serene (6). A coach without his top scorer, projecting calm.

Deschamps on the referee: hope he is good

Deschamps did not name names, but he had a line about the officiating. "Hoffen wir mal, dass unser Schiedsrichter genauso gut wird", let's hope our referee is just as good (9). A quarterfinal of this magnitude, every detail matters.

Fan reactions

The mood among neutrals is split. Some Reddit users see Morocco as a dangerous sleeper: "I wouldn't be surprised if they beat France," one wrote. Others marked the date with nostalgia, July 9 is the anniversary of both the 2006 final loss to Italy and the 1998 semifinal win over Croatia that sent France to their first World Cup final.