Morocco Vows Fearless Approach vs France in World Cup Quarter-Final Despite Saibari Injury

FIFA World Cup 2026: Saibari ruled out as Morocco coach Ouahbi vows fearless approach against France in quarter-final

Massachusetts, July 9

Saibari, who injured his hamstring during Morocco's 3-0 Round of 16 victory over Canada, has failed to recover in time for Thursday's (local time) clash against the two-time world champions.

"He's not ready but I hope it's not the end of the tournament for him," Ouahbi told reporters, as per Reuters.

The PSV Eindhoven forward has been one of Morocco's standout performers at the tournament, scoring in all three group-stage matches before converting the decisive penalty in the shootout victory over the Netherlands in the Round of 32.

Despite the absence of one of his key attacking players, Ouahbi said Morocco would not deviate from the style that has taken them to the last eight.

"With regards to preparing for the match, there will not be any surprises. I have nothing to hide. I'm not somebody who is keen on surprises, and those of you who have analysed our games, you know that we have a clear idea of how we want to play," he said, as per Reuters.

"Of course, the key will be to hurt them when we have possession, but it's not only on the wings. We have to be patient with the ball, and to find where we can go through on the sides or in the centre," said Ouahbi.

"We've proven that we can hurt any team, and that's the goal. But I'm not going to go into too many details," he added.

The meeting is a rematch of the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final, when France ended Morocco's dream run with a 2-0 victory. However, Ouahbi believes both teams have evolved significantly over the last four years.

"Every match is different, has its own context, its own history, and it's not going to be the same as in 2022," he said.

"What is important is that now we have a team that is different. We're going to face a different French team than the one from four years ago. Both teams are even better and that's normal because we are two federations, two countries that work very well," Moroccan head coach said.

Ouahbi also rejected suggestions that simply reaching the quarter-finals should satisfy his players.

"I always like to say that we'll take stock of the situation at the end of the tournament," he said. "We're not going to listen to people who will say, 'Oh, it's great what you have done up till now'. France might be favourites, but we were going to do everything possible to win. Being at this stage is not a bonus. The bonus is to win the World Cup."

France arrive in Foxborough with a perfect record, having won all five of their matches. Didier Deschamps's side topped Group I before defeating Sweden and edging past Paraguay in the Round of 16 courtesy of a Kylian Mbappe penalty.

Mbappe, who has scored seven goals in the tournament, leads a potent French attack featuring Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola as Les Bleus seek a third successive FIFA World Cup semi-final appearance.

Morocco, unbeaten in 10 matches since January's Africa Cup of Nations final, are aiming to defeat France for the first time after four defeats and two draws in their previous six meetings. The winners will face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals.

— ANI