France vs Morocco
World Cup 2026 favourites France are in quarter final action on Thursday, when the extremely dangerous Morocco will be their opponents at a bubbling Boston Stadium.
Didier Deschamps’ France have looked as good as anyone in the competition so far but Les Bleus had an almighty battle to beat Paraguay in the Round of 16, while Mohamed Ouahbi’s Atlas Lions were impressive in beating Canada 3-0 to make the quarter finals. As I write the World Cup 2026 betting odds place France as the marginal favourites to win the tournament but, with Spain and Argentina still to play their Round of 16 ties and England beating hosts Mexico in a thrilling Sunday encounter the competition is bubbling up nicely.
Talking Points
French nerve was tested by Paraguay
Deschamps’ men have had a charmed journey through to the final eight, until they met Paraguay that is. La Albirroja, captained by their warhorse at the heart of defence, Gustavo Gomez, threw everything they could at France and put their bodies on the line when they were under the cosh. The conquerors of Germany had 25 per cent possession, five shots and just one on target; but their robust tactics and enthusiastic use of the ‘dark arts’ certainly got up Les Bleus noses, and Paraguay held out until the 70th minute when Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty.
In over 37 degrees temperatures it was a fiery contest in which the players had to be broken up twice and at the final whistle Paraguay defender Gustavo Velazquez had to be pulled away from France players while the exuberant Mbappe celebrated wildly in front of the fans. The Real Madrid star had plenty to be happy about, drawing level with Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot on seven goals and one ahead of England’s harry Kane. It was also Mbappe’s 19th goal in as many World Cup appearances, scoring twice against Sweden in the France’s Round of 32 match.
This France side has been attacking with superb fluidity, but they were severely hampered by Paraguay’s debatable tactics and the likes of Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele will hope to get back to their best against the Atlas Lions, alongside Micheal Olise and either Bradley Barcola or Desire Doue.
At the other end of the pitch William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano are yet to concede a goal, Arsenal man Saliba was rested in the 4-1 win over Norway, and all eyes will be on AC Milan star Adrien Rabiot who will have a fight on his hands to control the middle of the park
Ounahi makes Morocco tick
An important figure in the Atlas Lions’ run to the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago, 26 year old Girona midfielder Azzedine Ounahi is a tough tackler with superb positional sense; he is unflappable in possession and has excellent distribution skills. And Ounahi pops up with his fair share of goals, bagging a brace in the 3-0 win over Canada, to make it 11 in 54 appearances.
Captain Achraf Hakimi at wingback is the team’s inspiration, a centurion in caps and twice Champions League winner with Paris Saint-Germain but it is Ounahi who will fight for territory in the midfield, and his tussle with Rabiot is worth keeping an eye on. If the Morocco man wins that battle, then Real Madrid striker Brahim Diaz will be confident of adding to his 14 goals in 31 internationals.
But the Atlas Lions will need to be resolute and well organised at the back and take their chances when they come. Ouahbi’s men showed all their resilience in their Round of 32 win over the highly fancied Netherlands. After Cody Gakpo had given the Oranje the lead, Fulham centre back Issa Diop’s stoppage-time header sent the tie to extra-time and penalties. With 11 shots to six and five to two on target the Atlas Lions could have been out of sight before penalties but they stood firm, and Ismael Saibari scored the winning spot kick after Bono saved Crysencio Summerville’s penalty.
History
This is a clash between the 2022 World Cup finalists and two times winners, and the 2022 semi-finalists, sitting first and sixth in the updated FIFA World Rankings and it is no surprise that both France and Morocco are in the final eight.
They met at the 2022 semi-final stage when goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani gave Didier Deschamps’ team a 2-0 win.
Over the past month, friendlies and World Cup 2026 results, France have won six from six, scoring 17 goals and conceding three, with the match against Paraguay the tightest game of the lot. Meanwhile Morocco have won three and drawn three, scoring 11 and conceding five goals and their 3-0 win over Canada was the Atlas Lions’ most convincing result.
Betting Tip
At SBOTOP odds of 1.55 Les Bleus are hot favourites to win this fascinating clash with the Atlas Lions at 6.50 and the Draw at 3.80, with the Double Chance: Morocco or Draw priced at 2.35.
Morocco are a fine side and I think this match will go to form, and for a correct scoreline a France 2-1 win is my alternative bet, at odds of 7.50.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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