The quarterfinal action at the World Cup 2026 will get underway with a big clash between France and Morocco at the Boston Stadium on Thursday.
The two teams, who met at the last World Cup semifinals, have produced impressive campaigns so far and will be keen to extend their unbeaten run.
France made it to the last eight stage after their 1-0 win over Paraguay, which didn't come easy at all. They overcame Paraguay's physicality and deep defending with Kylian Mbappé's penalty in the second half settling the match in their favour.
Meanwhile, Morocco faced Canada in the previous round and emerged 3-0 winners. They were overwhelmed by Canada in the first half but they weathered the storm and then Azzedine Ounahi's brace followed by Soufiane Rahimi's goal in the second half sealed the game.
Here's everything you need to know about the game.
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: July 9, Thursday at 4:00 p.m.
UK BST: July 9, Thursday at 9:00 p.m.
India IST: July 10, Friday at 1:30 a.m.
Australia AEST: July 10, Friday at 6 a.m.
Venue: Boston Stadium
Referee: TBC
Team News and Predicted line-ups:
France
Aurélien Tchouaméni is likely to miss the game due to thigh injury.
Mike Maignan
Jules Koundé | Dayot Upamecano | William Saliba | Lucas Digne
Manu Koné | Adrien Rabiot
Michael Olise | Ousmane Dembélé | Désiré Doué
Kylian Mbappé
Morocco
Ismael Saibari, who scored three goals for his team at the World Cup, is a big injury concern after going off the field against Canada due to a hamstring problem.
Yassine Bounou
Achraf Hakimi | Issa Diop | Chadi Riad | Noussair Mazraoui
Ayyoub Bouaddi | Azzedine Ounahi | Neil El Aynaoui
Brahim Díaz | Soufiane Rahimi | Bilal El Khannouss
Talking Points
France have no weakness
Be it winning through their attacking prowess or by grinding out against a deep defending side, France can do both and that's why they are the favourites for the World Cup. Against Paraguay, things became tough in the middle with France unable to play in rhythm. Paraguay stuck to their physical style of play but France, as Mbappé said later, got their hands dirty and eventually showed quality to win their game.
Morocco will prove to be a tough test again but France will take confidence from the fact that they haven't fumbled in the last five games. They have Mbappé who is in outstanding form, scoring seven goals while the other attackers have also delivered when it mattered. Their defence has been pretty much solid with goalkeeper Mike Maignan getting beaten only twice in five games. They can control the proceedings throughout the match and can shift gears quickly when it's needed. This team has no weaknesses and will need one hell of an effort from their opponents to stop their run.
Morocco will need to start better
There were some voices who said Canada played the right way against Morocco, which also included their head coach Jesse Marsch, but the fact is Morocco showed their quality and efficiency and certainly deserved their win in the previous round. It's true that Canada started well and played better in the first half with Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou pulling off a couple of fine saves. After the break though, Morocco took control and their midfielder Ounahi turned the game around with his brace.
Manager Mohamed Ouahbi will want Morocco to start better against France. While Canada couldn't take their chances, it's highly likely that France will punish them heavily if they are too passive in the middle. Morocco have enough quality with the ball, and they have shown against the likes of Brazil and the Netherlands that they can play positive football. The focus will be on a strong defence against an attacking side like France but that shouldn't be their only gameplan.
Another issue is the injury to their key scorer Saibari who is likely to miss the game. It's a worry for Ouahbi that his striker might miss an important big game but he will take confidence from how his team responded against Canada after Saibari left the field early in the first half.