France

[Aranloye]

France’s starting XI is otherwise unchanged from that 1-0 win over Paraguay and that includes the attacking regulars of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, with Michael Olise behind them.

Morocco, for their part, are without forward Ismael Saibari, who was injured during their 3-0 defeat of co-hosts Canada. Head coach Mohamed Ouahbi has opted for defender Anass Salah Eddine over Redouane Halhal, while midfielder Chemsdine Talbi stands in for Saibari. That probably means Brahim Diaz will play as a lone forward.

France: Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Desire Doue; Kylian Mbappe

Morocco: Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Noussair Mazraoui, Anass Salah Eddine; Neil El Aynaoui, Chemsdine Talbi, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El Khannouss; Brahim Diaz

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5.27am

It’s quarter-finals time!

By 

The last eight. The final push. Potentially The Wall, if you are Morocco. Do the 2022 semi-finalists have what it takes to dismantle a team like France? According to that 2022, the answer is no, and that 2-0 defeat will be on everybody’s lips as kick-off approaches for today’s fixture.

But Morocco have also displayed enough this tournament to indicate this re-match could look different. Not just because they have since won AFCON (all that is for another day), but because of their performances against the likes of Canada et al.

 

[Jadeva]

Morocco’s holding up well so far honestly, didn’t expect them to keep Mbappe this quiet.

[doselyn52]

Morocco losing Saibari is rough, but Brahim as a lone forward could still cause problems if France’s backline falls asleep

[vexund]

Morocco lowkey keeping Mbappe quiet is surprising, but Brahim up top on his own might snatch something if France get complacent.