Overview
The French team will aim to win a ticket to the FIFA World Cup semi-finals for the third consecutive time when facing Morocco at Boston.
After the championship in 2018 and the runner-up in 2022, Les Bleus are facing the opportunity to become the third team in history to reach the World Cup semi-finals three times in a row, equaling the achievements of Germany (2002-2014 and 1982-1990) and Brazil (1994-2002).
Coach Didier Deschamps' team faced many difficulties in the round of 16 when facing Paraguay. Although the opponent did not receive any yellow cards, the match was fierce with many situations of pressure and provocation to slow down the rhythm of the French team's play. However, Les Bleus still overcame the challenge thanks to Kylian Mbappe's successful penalty in the 70th minute to win 1-0.
That goal helped Mbappe increase the total number of goals at the 2026 World Cup to 7, equaling the achievement of Erling Haaland and only behind Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race. Besides 7 goals, the Real Madrid star also has 2 assists and created 12 chances for teammates. Only Michael Olise has more passes through the opponent's defense than him, with 9 times.
Olise is also a bright spot in the French national team's attacking system. This player became the first person since Brazil's legend Zico at the 1978 World Cup to reach the milestone of 10 successful dribbles (11), creating at least 10 chances from live balls (10) and making 10 cross-line passes (11) right in his first World Cup appearance.
With the support of Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele, the French team's attack is operating extremely effectively. Les Bleus currently have a 7-match winning streak in official matches, and have won 11 out of the last 12 matches (1 draw). The last time they had a longer winning streak was from September 2002 to June 2004 with 14 consecutive wins.
In the opposite direction, Morocco faces a big challenge when the risk of missing Ismael Saibari is still present. The Bayern Munich midfielder scored in all 3 group stage matches but had to leave the field in the first half of the 3-0 victory over Canada in the round of 16 due to a thigh injury. His ability to play against France is still open.
If Saibari does not recover in time, Morocco will have to place high hopes on Brahim Diaz and Achraf Hakimi. Since the 2025 African Cup, Diaz is the Moroccan player who has directly participated in the most goals with 6 goals and 4 assists.
Meanwhile, Hakimi continues to prove his important role on the wing flank. In the last two World Cups, this defender has created 21 chances, the most among the defenders participating in the tournament. At the 2026 World Cup alone, he created 15 chances.
Head-to-head record
The semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar were the first time France and Morocco faced each other in an official match. At that time, goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani helped Les Bleus win, and closed the fairytale journey of the "Atlas Lions".
Before this rematch, the two teams have met a total of six times in all competitions. France completely dominated with four wins and 2 draws.
Score prediction: France 3-1 Morocco
The match between France and Morocco takes place at 3:00 AM on July 10 (Vietnam time).
