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Continental weight — does representing Africa alone add pressure to this Morocco squad, or does it galvanize them the way it did in 2022? David vs Goliath, again — France's front four vs Morocco's defensive discipline. Is this a repeat of the 2022 script, or does this Morocco side have more attacking answers this time (even without Saibari)? The diaspora squad — most of this Morocco XI plays in Europe's top leagues. Does that experience help level the pitch against a European giant, even while representing an African nation? Legacy moment — if Morocco fall short again, does that change how this "golden generation" is remembered? Or is simply getting this far twice in a row already historic enough? The neutral's takeaway — with no African side left after tonight either way, is the neutral football world quietly rooting for Morocco to go further?

The starting XIs are in for the quarterfinal, and there are a couple of surprises on the team sheet. France (4-3-3): Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Koné, Rabiot; Dembélé, Olise, Doué; Mbappé. Notably, Deschamps has gone with Koné and Rabiot in a two-man midfield rather than a more defensive setup, and Doué gets the nod over Barcola in the front three alongside Mbappé and Dembélé. Morocco (4-3-3 mirrored): Bono; Salah-Eddine, Mazraoui, Diop, Hakimi; El Aynaoui, Bouaddi; El Khannouss, Ounahi, Talbi; Diaz. The bigger story is up front — with Saibari already ruled out, Morocco haven't turned to Rahimi (who'd stepped up well in his absence against Canada) but instead started Diaz as the central striker, flanked by El Khannouss and Ounahi rather than a recognized winger.

After dramatic 3-2 wins over Cape Verde and Egypt — the Egypt game seeing them trail 2-0 with 11 minutes left — Messi and Argentina will be hoping for a quieter night this time. Argentina have an average squad age of 30 years, 173 days — the second-oldest side they've ever fielded at a World Cup. Switzerland are enjoying a historic run of their own: this is their first quarterfinal in over 70 years. They'll be hoping to replicate the pace and directness that hurt Argentina against Egypt, if Johan Manzambi can overcome a knee injury in time.

Norway have been the story of the tournament — they'd only escaped the group stage once in three previous World Cup appearances before this run. Haaland has been central to that, striking down Brazil in the Round of 16 to book this quarterfinal. England arrive off Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane inspiring a win over Mexico in the Round of 16, and Tuchel's side will want a deeper run than their 2022 exit, when England were the only one of this year's remaining four 2022 quarterfinalists not to reach the semis.

Spain vs Belgium Friday, July 10, 3 p.m. ET Spain's Historic Clean Sheet Run Faces Its Toughest Test Yet vs Belgium Spain haven't conceded at this tournament and own six straight World Cup clean sheets overall — the longest run in the competition's history. They've allowed just two shots on target before halftime across five matches, both from Ronaldo in their 1-0 win over Portugal. Belgium have work to do: manager Rudi Garcia shuffled his squad against the USA, leaving Doku out and De Bruyne on the bench for the first time in 38 games — they'll need a lot to go right to repeat their famous 1986 shock over Spain at this stage. Can Belgium's golden generation core find one more big result in them, or does Spain's defensive record make this a formality?

A Rematch of the 2022 semifinal, when Morocco's fairytale run was ended by the then-defending champions France.Morocco reach this stage on the back of becoming the first African nation to advance to the final eight in back-to-back World Cups. The bad news: Saibari is out, but Soufiane Rahimi capably replaced him after coming on against Canada — the Bayern Munich-bound forward has scored in every one of Morocco's group games. On the other side, France's front four of Mbappé, Olise, Dembélé and Doué/Barcola are arguably the best attacking unit left in the tournament, and Morocco's hopes rest on their defense and keeper Bounou standing firm on the counter. Worth noting: Olise is one caution away from a suspension that would rule him out of a potential semifinal.

This is the one everyone circled. France and Morocco meet again at the World Cup, four years after Les Bleus ended the Atlas Lions' historic run with a 2-0 win in the 2022 semifinal.This time it's a quarterfinal, at Boston Stadium, and Morocco arrive without their sharpest attacking weapon. Ismael Saibari has been ruled out, with Morocco's head coach saying he's "not ready today, too early" and hoping he'll be back for the next round. That's a serious blow — Saibari scored in all three of Morocco's group games and converted the winning penalty in the shootout over the Netherlands in the Round of 32. France go in as tournament favorites, backed by a squad full of star power — Mbappé, olise, Doué — while Morocco lean on the tournament story they've built: a diaspora-heavy squad playing some of the most entertaining football of the World Cup.

Big blow for Morocco. Fabrizio Romano confirmed Morocco's head coach has ruled out Ismael Saibari for the quarterfinal, saying he's "not ready today, too early" — but held out hope he could return for the next round. It's a massive miss. Saibari scored in all three of Morocco's group games — against Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti — and then stepped up to convert the decisive penalty in the shootout win over the Netherlands in the Round of 32. He arrived at this World Cup off a $63 million move from PSV Eindhoven to Bayern Munich, and has been arguably Morocco's most dangerous attacking threat. The timing couldn't be worse. Morocco face France at Boston Stadium in a rematch of the brutal 2022 semifinal, where Les Bleus ended the Atlas Lions' historic run with a 2-0 win. France go in as tournament favorites, and now Morocco have to find a way past them without their sharpest finisher.

1.The clean sheet run — Colombia hasn't conceded in three straight World Cup matches. Does that hold up against a Swiss side that's reached the Round of 16 four tournaments running? 2.Missing piece — Switzerland's 20-year-old midfielder left training early and is out of Yakin's squad for this one. How much does that dent their midfield control? 3.The hoodoo — Switzerland hasn't made a quarterfinal since 1954. Is this finally the year, or does history repeat? 4.Betting angle — current lines have Colombia around 2.32 Odd, Switzerland 3.60 odd, Draw at 3.00 odd on Stake.com, Where's the value — backing the underdog moneyline, or the draw given Colombia's defensive solidity? The prize — winner faces Argentina in Kansas City. Worth factoring into risk appetite on this one?

What a Round of 16 clash. Egypt led Yasser Ibrahim opened the scoring in the 15th minute off a corner, and Messi even missed a penalty minutes later to keep them ahead. Zico added a second in the second half after a slick counter, and Egypt were 11 minutes from the biggest shock of the tournament. Then it unraveled. Romero headed in from Messi's cross in the 79th minute, and Messi struck himself four minutes later to level it, before a stoppage-time winner sealed the comeback for Argentina. 1.Game management — Egypt sat deep and defended well for 75+ minutes, but conceded twice in the final 11. Was this a tactical collapse (fatigue, subs too late) or just Messi-level individual brilliance being unstoppable? 2.The recurring pattern — This isn't the first time an African side has led a knockout match late against a heavyweight and failed to close it out. Is this about squad depth, in-game management, mentality under pressure, or just the level of opposition (Messi/Argentina specifically)? 3.Shobeir's performance — Saved a Messi penalty and multiple other big chances. Arguably Egypt's best player despite conceding 3. Does a goalkeeper's brilliance sometimes mask deeper tactical issues in front of him? 4.Betting angle — For those who backed Egypt +handicap or the draw, how did the market price this game pre-kickoff given Argentina's shaky recent knockout form (needed extra time vs Cape Verde)? Did the odds undervalue Egypt's ceiling? My Question:was this Argentina class winning out, or Egypt fumbling a golden chance to reach the quarterfinals?