World Cup quarterfinal preview: France, Morocco set for titanic rematch in Foxboro

Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald on Jul 8, 2026

Published in Soccer

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BOSTON — Thursday afternoon Gillette Stadium — temporarily renamed “Boston Stadium” for the World Cup — will host its final match of the tournament.

And it’s going to be a doozy.

Four years after facing off in the 2022 World Cup semifinals, France and Morocco are set to clash once again with a spot in the final four on the line. Last time in Qatar the French won, 2-0, to secure a spot in the final, ending Morocco’s bid for history, and this time in Foxboro the north African side will look to avenge that defeat.

The quarterfinal match is set to begin at 4 p.m. and figures to be among the most compelling of the tournament.

The world’s No. 1 team in FIFA’s latest men’s rankings, France has rolled through the tournament as it seeks its third consecutive finals appearance. Les Bleus are a perfect 5-0 in this World Cup with a plus-12 goal differential, though the French faced an unexpectedly tough challenge from Paraguay in their round of 16 battle, winning 1-0 on a second-half penalty kick goal by superstar striker Kylian Mbappé.

One of the world’s most prolific goal scorers, Mbappé is again in the mix for the Golden Boot. The 27-year-old enters Thursday with seven goals, which is tied with Norway’s Erling Haaland for second in the tournament behind only Argentina’s Lionel Messi (8), as well as two assists.

Mbappé is also chasing Messi for the all-time World Cup scoring lead. The Argentinian legend has 21 goals, two more than Mbappé’s 19.

But the French aren’t a one-trick pony up front. Ousmane Dembélé also ranks among the tournament’s scoring leaders with four goals and two assists, including a hat trick against Norway during France’s previous group stage game in Foxboro, and midfielder Michael Olise completes what’s widely regarded as the world’s most dangerous attacking trio.

Morocco will enter Thursday’s rematch as an underdog, but the Atlas Lions are no Cinderella.

Coming in at No. 6 in FIFA’s rankings, Morocco made history in 2022 when it became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semifinals. Its four knockout stage wins over the past two tournaments match the combined total of every other African team in World Cup history, and a win over France would also make Morocco the seventh team to reach the semis in consecutive tournaments.

The others are a who’s who of soccer royalty, Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and France.

Morocco finished second in Group C, tying with Brazil atop the standings with two wins and a draw each but losing the goal differential tiebreaker plus-six to plus-three. Morocco tied Brazil 1-1 in their opening match before beating Scotland 1-0 in Foxboro and Haiti, 4-2, to advance to the knockout rounds.

Morocco faced its toughest test in the round of 32 when it tied the Netherlands 1-1 and advanced on penalty kicks 3-2, after which it knocked out co-host nation Canada 3-0 in the round of 16.

The Atlas Lions are led by captain Achraf Hakimi, a star defender with two-time defending Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain. Hakimi is regarded as one of the world’s best right backs, but he’s also become a polarizing figure since he was charged with rape in 2023. Hakimi will stand trial in France after his bid to have the charges dropped was rejected last Tuesday.

Despite the allegations, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation has continued to back Hakimi, who has played in all of Morocco’s World Cup matches so far. When Morocco last played in Foxboro on June 19, Hakimi was booed by the crowd whenever he touched the ball.

Beyond Hakimi, Morocco’s other top players include Brahim Diaz, a standout midfielder with Real Madrid, goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who played a key role in Morocco’s 2022 run, Noussair Mazraoui, a top defender with Manchester United, and Youssef En-Nesyri, who scored the winning goal in Morocco’s 2022 quarterfinal win over Portugal.

The winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal will go on to face Spain or Belgium in the semifinals. That match would be played Tuesday, July 14 in Dallas.