2026 FIFA WORLD CUP  PREVIEW: FRANCE WILL BATTLE IT OUT WITH MOROCCO ON THURSDAY FOR ONE OF THE SEMI-FINAL SPOTS

By: Isaac Amponsah (Dr Ike)

Predictions: Home win/draw 

• 48 nations dared to dream, but only 8 remain. The Quarter-finals are locked in as France welcome Morocco to the Boston Stadium, Massachusetts, USA, for a semi-final fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday, July 9, 2026.

• Head-to-Head

• France and Morocco's encounter at the Quarter-finals stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be their seventh meeting between them. Les Bleus of France are unbeaten in their previous six (6) games against Atlas Lions of Morocco in all competitions.

• Head-to-Head

• February 5, 1988 (Tournoi de France International Friendly) 
Venue: Stade Louis II, France 
France                           2-1 Morocco
Abdelmajid Lamris (OG) 9', Yannick Stopyra 49'//Abdelmajid Lamris 34'

• May 29, 1998 (King Hassan II Tournament)
Venue: Stade Mohamed V, Morocco 
Morocco                       2-2 France (6-5p)
Salaheddine Bassir (brace)//Laurent Blanc, Zinedine Zidane 

• January 20, 1999 (International Friendly)
Venue: Marseille 
France                           1-0 Morocco 
Youri Djorkaeff 47'

• January 6, 2000 (King Hassan II Tournament)
Venue: Stade Mohamed V 
Morocco                       1-5 France 
Naybet Noureddine 65'//Thierry Henry 27', Youri Djorkaeff 56', Christophe Dugarry 79', Nicholas Anelka 83', Sylvain Wiltord 90+2'

• November 16, 2007 (International Friendly)
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 
France                           2-2 Morocco 
Sidney Govou 15', Samir Nasri 76'//Tarik Sektioui 8', Youssef Mokhtari 85' 

• December 14, 2022 (Semi-Finals) [2022 World Cup]
Venue: Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar 
France                           2-0 Morocco 
Theo Hernandez 5', Randal Kolo Muani 79'

Total matches played     - 6
France wins                      - 4
Goals scored                    - 14
Morocco wins                  - 0
Goals scored                    - 6
Drawn games                   - 2

• Recent Performance:

• France's Recent Performance:

• France won 1-0 against Paraguay in their Round 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on July 4 at the Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia. Kylian Mbappe scored the only goal.

• France have won each of their last six games in all competitions. France have scored seventeen (17) and conceded three (3) in those games. scoring first in all six contests. They had six first-half goals, while their opponents netted once in the first 45 minutes. 

• Morocco's Recent Performance:

• The Atlas Lions of Morocco have won three (3) and drawn three (3) in their last six games in all competitions. Morocco scored 11 and conceded 5 over that period, netting first in four of the six. They had five (5) goals in the first half, while their opponents scored three times before the break.

• Morocco won their World Cup Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup match 3-0 against Canada on July 4 at NRG Stadium, Houston, extending Morocco's unbeaten run to 34.

• There have been 280 goals scored in 96 matches for the ongoing FIFA World Cup, for an average of 2.92 goals per match (as of July 7, 2026).

• A total of ten (10) players from France and Morocco have scored 24 goals combined after Round of 16 games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup:

• 7 goals (1 player)
• Kylian Mbappe (France)

• 4 goals (1 player)
• Ousmane Dembele (France)

• 3 goals (1 player)
• Ismael Saibari (Morocco)

• 2 goals (3 players)
• Bradley Barcola (France)
• Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco)
• Soufiane Rahimi (Morocco)

• 1 goal (4 players)
• Desire Doué (France)
• Issa Diop (Morocco)
• Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
• Gessime Yassine (Morocco)

• Asamoah Gyan of Ghana is the all-time Africa's leading goal scorer at the FIFA World Cup with 6 goals; Ismaila Sarr of Senegal is currently on five goals and Morocco's Ishmael Saibari is on 3 goals. 

• Match Facts:

• Les Bleus of France are ranked 3rd by the latest FIFA rankings (June 11, 2026), but their highest was 1st in May 2001 - May 2002, August - September 2018, April 2026 - June 2026.

• Their first international game was May 1, 1904 (Belgium 3-3 France) in Uccle, Belgium.

• The Atlas Lions of Morocco are ranked 7th in the FIFA rankings (June 11, 2026), but their highest was 7th in June 2006.

• Their first international game was October 19, 1957 (Morocco 3-3 Iraq) in Beirut, Lebanon.

• Player Records:

• France's most-capped player: Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (145 caps, 0 goals).

• Morocco's most-capped player: Noureddine Naybet (115 caps, 4 goals).

• France's all-time top scorer: Kylian Mbappe Lottin (63 goals, 103 caps).

• Morocco's all-time top scorer: Ahmed Faras (36 goals, 94 caps).

• Team Information:

• France is located in Europe and is part of the UEFA Confederation.

• Morocco is located in Africa and is part of the UNAF Sub-Confederation.

• The French Football Federation (FFF) was officially founded on April 7, 1919. However, France was a founding member of FIFA at its inception on May 21, 1904, with representation from the Comité Français Interfédéral (CFI), which preceded the FFF.

• The French Football Federation (FFF) joined UEFA as a founding member in 1954. The organization played a primary role in its formation, with French football administrator Henri Delaunay serving as UEFA's first general secretary.

• The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF). It was founded in 1955, became affiliated with CAF in 1959, and with FIFA in 1960, and with the Union of North Africa Football since 2005.

• Les Bleus of France first appeared in the inaugural FIFA World Cup in July 1930, held in Uruguay.

• On July 13, 1930, France played against Mexico, and that is the first official FIFA World Cup game in the history of the tournament. France defeated Mexico 4-1 at the Estadio Pocitos in Montevideo.

• Lucien Laurent of France scored the first official goal in FIFA World Cup history in the 19th minute in their 4-1 win over Mexico.

• France also became the first team to not score in a FIFA World Cup match after losing 1-0 to group stage opponents Argentina on  July 15, 1930, at the Estadio Parque Central, Montevideo.

• France were eliminated at the group stages of the FIFA World Cup in their maiden participation in 1930. 

• The 2026 edition of the tournament marks France' 17 appearances at the FIFA World Cup (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026).

• The trophy has been won by only eight (8) national teams, with Brazil being the most successful country with 5 titles, followed by Germany and Italy with 4 titles, the defending champions, Argentina with 3 titles, France and inaugural winner Uruguay, each with 2 titles, and England and Spain, with 1 title each.

• France are unbeaten in their last nine (9) FIFA World Cup games, including knock-out games. 

• France have won 11 of their last 12 competitive games (D1), including the last seven in a row. They last won 8+ consecutive competitive matches between September 2002 and June 2004 (a run of 14).

• France are aiming to qualify for a third consecutive FIFA World Cup Semi-Finals, having done so in both 2018 (winners) and 2022 (runners-up). Only two (2) countries have reached the Semi-Finals in three (3) back-to-back tournaments: Germany (4 from 2002-2014 and 3 from 1982-1990), and Brazil (3 from 1994-2002).

• Didier Deschamps of France already has 24 games, and this fixture will be his 25th FIFA World Cup game as a manager, equalling the record total of Helmut Schon (25 between 1966 and 1978). Deschamps' 19 victories in the competition as in charge of France are already the most by any manager. 

• The Atlas Lions of Morocco first appeared at the 1970 FIFA World Cup and were eliminated at the group stages.

• The first player to score a FIFA World Cup goal for the Morocco national team is Houmane Jarir in a 2-1 loss to West Germany on June 3rd, 1970, at Estadio Nou Camp, Leon in Mexico.

• Morocco recorded their first-ever win at the FIFA World Cup on June 11, 1986 (40 years ago) in a Group F fixture on match Day 3 against Portugal (1-3) at the Estadio Tres de Marzo, Zapopan in Mexico.

• Morocco finished on top of Group F of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in a group that comprised England, Poland, and Portugal.

• In the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup, Morocco finished on top of Group F that had Croatia, Belgium and Canada.

• Morocco qualified for the knock-out stages for the third time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, finishing second in Group C that comprised Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti.

• The 2026 edition of the tournament marks Morocco's 7th appearance at the FIFA World Cup (1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018, 2022, 2026).

• Morocco is the first African nation in the history of the FIFA World Cup to qualify for the Quarter-finals in two separate editions - doing it back-to-back (2022 & 2026).

• Quarter-finals appearances by African teams:
• Cameroon (1)
• Senegal (1)
• Ghana (1)
• Morocco (2)

• Morocco are the only African nation to have gone unbeaten in their opening five games of the FIFA World Cup tournament, and they have done that twice in the last two editions (5 in 2022 and 2026). Indeed, Morocco were beaten in their sixth match of the 2022 World Cup by France. 

• In 1986, Morocco made history as the first African team to win a World Cup group stage. 

• Morocco's fourth-place finish in 2022 was the highest by an African nation at the FIFA World Cup.

• Morocco were also the third FIFA World Cup Semi-finalist from outside Europe or South America (USA in 1930, South Korea in 2002 and Morocco in 2022).

• Morocco was ranked 10th in the FIFA World Rankings in April 1998. They were Africa's highest-ranked national team for three consecutive years, from 1997 to 1999.

• As of June 11, 2026, Morocco is ranked 7th in the World, the highest ranking by an African team since Nigeria in 1994.

• Morocco have so far played 27 games at the FIFA World Cup since their debut appearance in the 1970 edition, with a record (W8 D8 L11 GF27 GA31).

• Additional Facts:

• France against African opponents at the FIFA World Cup (W5 L3 GF9 GA6):
• 12/06/1998 France  3-0 South Africa (Group Stage) [1998 World Cup]
• 31/05/2002 France  0-1 Senegal (Group Stage) [2002 World Cup]
• 23/06/2006 Togo     0-2 France (Group Stage) [2006 World Cup]
• 22/06/2010 France  1-2 South Africa (Group Stage) [2010 World Cup]
• 30/06/2014 France  2-0 Nigeria (Round of 16) [2014 World Cup]
• 30/11/2022 Tunisia 1-0 France (Group Stage) [2022 World Cup]
• 14/12/2022 France  2-0 Morocco (Semi-Finals) [2022 World Cup]
• 16/06/2026 France  3-1 Senegal (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]

• Morocco have faced European opponents 20 times at the FIFA World Cup (W5 D7 L8 GF19 GA19).

• France have won all FIFA World Cup knock-out stage games against African opponents:
• 30/06/2014 France  2-0 Nigeria (Round of 16) [2014 World Cup]
• 14/12/2022 France  2-0 Morocco (Semi-Finals) [2022 World Cup]

• Morocco against European opponents at the knock-out stages of the FIFA World Cup:
• 17/06/1986 Morocco 0-1 West Germany (Round of 16) [1986 World Cup]
• 06/12/2022 Morocco 0-0 Spain (a.e.t.) [3-0p] (Round of 16) [2022 World Cup]
• 10/12/2022 Morocco 1-0 Portugal (Quarter-finals) [2022 World Cup]
• 14/12/2022 France  2-0 Morocco (Semi-Finals) [2022 World Cup]
• 17/12/2022 Croatia 2-1 Morocco (Third-place) [2022 World Cup]
• 29/06/2026 Netherlands                 1-1 Morocco (a.e.t.) [2-3p] (Round of 32) [2026 World Cup]

• Two Nations' FIFA World Cup games in the United States:

• France have won all their FIFA World Cup games played on the soil of the United States (W5 GF14 GA2):
• 16/06/2026 - France 3-1 Senegal (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
• 22/06/2026 - France 3-0 Iraq (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
• 26/06/2026 - Norway 1-4 France (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
• 30/06/2026 - France 3-0 Sweden (Round of 32) [2026 World Cup]
• 04/07/2026 - Paraguay 0-1 France (Round of 16) [2026 World Cup]

• Morocco's previous FIFA World Cup games played on the soil of the United States (W3 D1 L3 GF11 GA8):
• 19/06/1994 - Belgium 1-0 Morocco (Group Stage) [1994 World Cup]
• 25/06/1994 - Saudi Arabia 2-1 Morocco (Group Stage) [1994 World Cup]
• 29/06/1994 - Morocco 1-2 Netherlands (Group Stage) [1994 World Cup]
• 13/06/2026 - Brazil  1-1 Morocco (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
• 19/06/2026 Scotland 0-1 Morocco (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
• 24/06/2026 - Morocco 4-2 Haiti (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
• 04/07/2026 - Canada 0-3 Morocco (Round of 16) [2026 World Cup]

• Two Nations' FIFA World Cup games in July:

• France have played 19 FIFA World Cup games in July, including knock-out stages, since 1930: (W11 D1 L7 GF31 GA22)

• Morocco won their only previous FIFA World Cup game in July since 1970:
• 04/07/2026 Canada 0-3 Morocco (Round of 16) [2026 World Cup]

• Two nations' FIFA World Cup games on Thursday:

• France FIFA World Cup games on Thursday (W3 D4 L1 GF14 GA7):
• 24/06/1982 (First Group Stage) [1982 World Cup]
• 19/06/1958 (Quarter-finals) [1958 World Cup]
France                           4-0 Northern Ireland
France                           1-1 Czechoslovakia 
• 08/07/1982 (Semi-Finals) [1982 World Cup]
West Germany             3-3 France a.e.t. [5-4p]
• 05/06/1986 (Group Stage) [1986 World Cup]
France                           1-1 Soviet Union 
• 18/06/1998 (Group Stage) [1998 World Cup]
France                           4-0 Saudi Arabia 
• 06/06/2002 (Group Stage) [2002 World Cup]
France                           0-0 Uruguay 
• 17/06/2010 (Group Stage) [2010 World Cup]
France                           0-2 Mexico 
• 21/06/2018 (Group Stage) [2018 World Cup]
France                           1-0 Peru

• Morocco are unbeaten in each of their previous FIFA World Cup games on Thursday since 1970 (W1 D1 GF3 GA2):
• 11/06/1970 (Group Stage) [1970 World Cup]
Bulgaria                         1-1 Morocco 
• 01/12/2022 (Group Stage) [2022 World Cup]
Canada                          1-2 Morocco

• Morocco have scored/conceded in each of their previous FIFA World Cup games on Thursday (scoring 3 goals and conceding 2 goals in 2 games).