Live: France faces Morocco as World Cup quarterfinals begin with Boston blockbuster

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:20am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:20am

16' Set-piece chance for Morocco

Brahim Diaz has another foray into the French half and is brought down once again.

This time he does win the free kick, and Achraf Hakimi has an opportunity to work in a cross from the right.

The French defence is very deep, but Hakimi is unable to test their mettle, with his ball being far too long and drifting out of a goal kick.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:16am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:16am

12' Morocco breaks after poor France pass

By Henry Hanson

This has been a very impressive start from France, who have pushed high into the Moroccan half and look very comfortable there.

But William Saliba has played an absolute hospital pass, directly into the feet of Brahim Diaz on halfway.

Diaz takes the opportunity to make his way towards the top of the penalty area, but the Moroccan playmaker is eventually hauled down by a French defender.

And fairly so, according to referee Facundo Tello.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:09am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:09am

5' Big chance for France

By Henry Hanson

It's a wonderfully whipped corner from the left, and somehow, French central defender Dayot Upamecano has time and space at the back post.

The big man rises well but mistimes his header, the ball bouncing into the ground and popping up for Yassine Bounou to make his second save of the afternoon.

Upamecano really should have done better there.

Big chance.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:06am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:06am

4' Mbappé goes close!

By Henry Hanson

Kylian Mbappé has the first effort of the day, testing the Moroccan goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty area.

His shot is low and hard and probably going wide, but Yassine Bounou tips it behind for the first corner of the day.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:03am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:03am

And we're off in Boston

By Henry Hanson

It's Morocco, wearing their preferred red shirts and green shorts, kicking us off.

And it's a touch finder to begin, with the ball walloped up towards the forward flag.

France, wearing all white, can begin with a spell of possession in their own half.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:00am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 6:00am

Points for the loudest anthem singing goes to ...

By Amanda Shalala

…Morocco. I can see a few separate blocks of red with a large contingent of Morocco fans in each and they were jumping and belting out the anthem.

There doesn’t look to be quite as many French fans in here but there is a section where they’re all flying French flags, and I’m sure the noise is about to go to new levels

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:55am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:55am

The players enter the arena

By Henry Hanson

And, as Amanda mentioned, it looks like an absolute stunner in Boston.

The hydration breaks may actually be required today.

France's La Marseillaise is the first anthem to be played around the stadium, before Morocco's Cherifian Anthem gets a run.

It's a great anthem, complex in some sections and triumphant in others, and is belted out in the stands.

If the anthem-o-metre is anything to go by, it sounds like there may be a few more Moroccans in attendance than French.

Play isn't far off.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:52am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:52am

Stands filling quickly

By Amanda Shalala

I’m inside the stadium now and fans are finding their seats.

They have been waiting until the last minute to emerge as it’s a hot day (although not as bad as the conditions in this patch of the country last weekend).

The stadium decibel test suggests there are more Moroccan fans here, they are excited for this re-match of the 2022 semifinal.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:50am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:50am

The last time these sides met

By Henry Hanson

Morocco and Spain last played each other three and a half years ago, at the semifinal stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The fixture came after a wildly successful tournament for the Moroccans, in which they became the first African nation to reach the semifinal stage of a World Cup.

But it would be France to march on to the tournament decider against Argentina, with goals to Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani earning Les Bleus a 2-0 victory.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:47am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:47am

World Cup quarterfinal schedule

By Henry Hanson

The pointy end of the tournament is upon us.

What a weekend we have in store.

Here's the quarterfinal schedule:

France vs Morocco, 6am AEST July 10, Boston

Spain vs Belgium, 5am AEST July 11, LA

Norway vs England, 7am AEST July 12, Miami

Argentina vs Switzerland, 11am AEST July 12, Kansas City

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:44am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:44am

Stormtroopers getting into the spirit

By Amanda Shalala

Hi, football fans, it's quarterfinal time, woo hoo!

I'm back at Boston Stadium to watch France v Morocco today, and it's another hot day, around 32 degrees.

I was walking around downtown Boston yesterday, and it was fantastic to see everyone getting ready for the game.

I spotted this very cute row of French and Moroccan Stormtroopers on a windowsill!

There was also a large gathering of several hundred Moroccan fans last night doing their pre-game warm-up.

They partied in the park for a while, then a bit later on at night, a smaller group kicked on, blocking off a busy street and setting off fireworks.

They were having a grand old time for a while until the police arrived to move them along.

I'm sure the French fans were also getting hyped; the Moroccan festivities just happened to be going off near my hotel.

Key Event

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:43am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:43am

Two changes for Morocco

By Henry Hanson

Two changes for Morocco from the side that comprehensively downed Canada in the Round of 16.

Star man Ismael Saibari suffered a knock against the Canadians and isn't fit, with Chemsdine Talbi coming into the forward line.

Manchester United's Noussair Mazraoui moves into the centre of defence, with the attack-minded Anass Salah-Eddine taking his place at left back.

Ayyoub Bouaddi has been extremely impressive at the base of midfield in North America and will continue there today, with Achraf Hakimi providing thrust as one of the world's premier fullbacks.

Six of today's Moroccan starting XI were born in France.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:41am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:41am

France-Morocco rematch could be the most intriguing World Cup quarterfinal

By Andrew McGarry

AP

France coach Didier Deschamps spent most of his World Cup news conference on Wednesday fielding questions about a multitude of off-field issues, from racist remarks aimed at French star Kylian Mbappé, to officiating concerns, to his own future.

Meantime, authorities in France are preparing for unrest related to the Thursday's quarterfinal clash with Morocco. Several thousand police officers are expected to be deployed across France after the 2022 World Cup semifinal between the North African nation and its former colonial ruler led to more than 250 arrests, many of them in Paris.

Even apart from those concerns, France-Morocco might be the most intriguing of the four quarterfinal matchups.

France beat Morocco 2-0 in the semifinals four years ago in Qatar. With a victory this time, France would continue its bid to become only the third country to reach the final of three successive World Cups, joining Germany and Brazil. Morocco was the first African team to make to a World Cup semifinal in 2022.

''We met them four years ago in the semifinal. They also played in the African final. It is a really great, excellent team with top-notch individuals. They're not here to play. They're there to win,'' Deschamps said.

"They like to attack to score goals. We have to be ready."

Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said the Atlas Lions aren't satisfied just getting back to this point of the tournament.

"I don't like this feeling where we can say what we've done up until now is great and rest is bonus," Ouahbi said. "No, the only bonus is to win the World Cup."

Midfielder Brahim Diaz said Morocco's 3-0 win over Canada in the round of 16 was indicative of how the team needs to play.

"This is our mentality," Diaz said. "We want to keep going. … Everybody wants to play in this type of game."

One of France's key players may have to play with a little caution Thursday.

France's appeal of midfielder Michael Olise's yellow card during its 1-0 Round of 16 win over Paraguay was denied by FIFA on Wednesday.

"We received FIFA's decision this morning that the yellow card was maintained," Deschamps said.

Ouahbi said Morocco won't have midfielder Ismael Saibari, who left with a thigh injury against Canada.

If Olise were to receive another yellow card on Thursday, he would be suspended for the next game.

Olise was shown the yellow in the 97th minute following an altercation with Paraguay's Matías Galarza.

Galarza went to the ground during a skirmish between the players, though video replays only showed Olise grasping the Paraguayan's jersey before he toppled to the grass.

The appeal came after US President Donald Trump made a phone call last week to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to make the case that USA striker Folarin Balogun should not have been suspended for Monday's matchup with Belgium because of a red card in the Americans' win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. FIFA lifted the suspension and cleared Balogun to play.

The decision ultimately didn't help the USA, which was eliminated with a 4-1 loss to Belgium .

On Monday, Mbappé condemned racist comments made by a Paraguayan senator following the loss to France. Deschamps described his star player's mood after the incident as focused.

"Kylian is OK. Whatever happens, I don't want to look back and think about it again. He's a very strong guy mentally and physically. He's just focused on tomorrow's game," he said.

The 57-year-old Deschamps was also asked to ponder his own future; he plans to step down after the tournament. The captain of France's 1998 World Cup-winning squad has been its coach for the past 14 years and led France to the 2018 World Cup title.

"The last game could have been the last one," he said. "In my head, with the technical staff, we want to win tomorrow. That's the objective. In a football game there are many possibilities when it comes to tomorrow's result. … I'm focused on the Moroccan team so we can win that game."

Key Event

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:38am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:38am

Who will win the Golden Boot?

By Andrew McGarry

So with a maximum of three games remaining for each team, who is in prime position to win the Golden Boot for top scorer at the World Cup?

There are three players (still active in the tournament) on four goals right now — France's Ousmane Dembélé, England's Jude Bellingham and Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal.

As things stand, it's a bit of a push for any of those three to hit the top of the heap, although Bellingham did score twice in two minutes against Mexico.

Next on the rankings is England's Harry Kane, who might well also add to his six goals so far in the quarterfinals against Norway.

Then we get to the strikers on seven — and it's a select group, with Norway's Erling Haaland and France's Kylian Mbappé. The latter will be in action in less than an hour, while Haaland will have to deal with England (and defender Dan Burn in particular).

Finally, there is Argentina's Lionel Messi, who has bagged eight goals so far, although La Albiceleste have looked more than a little fragile against Cabo Verde and Egypt, so there's no guarantee they'll get past Switzerland.

If one of the big guns lose in the last eight, that will be the end of their run. But any team that wins their quarterfinal is guaranteed a semifinal game and either a third-place playoff or the final itself.

And the wildcard? If the competition ends with two strikers level on goals, it goes to assists for the tiebreaker. So far, Mbappé has two, Messi and Kane have one, and Haaland has none.

So who knows? What we can say is that it promises to be the greatest Golden Boot competition ever.

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:33am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:33am

FIFA refereeing chief rejects claims of bias in Argentina's win over Egypt

By Andrew McGarry

Reuters

FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating in Argentina's 3-2 victory over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16, dismissing allegations of bias and saying match ​officials operated with complete independence.

In an interview published on inside.fifa.com on Thursday, Collina said criticism of referees was part of football but he condemned the questioning of the officials' integrity after Egypt complained about the officiating following the defeat.

"Constructive discussion ​about decisions will always be ‌part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport," Collina said.

"Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials … Nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, ‌not even by the FIFA president [Gianni Infantino]."

Collina said that such allegations could provoke threats against ⁠referees and their families.

Egypt exited the tournament but claimed they had ‌been treated unfairly after Argentina overturned a ​2- 0 deficit to snatch victory ‌with a stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernández.

Coach Hossam Hassan alleged after the match there may have been pressure on the referee to keep Argentina in the tournament. And the Egyptian Football Association said "several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness ​of ‌decisions that directly influenced the course of the game".

Egypt argued that Mostafa Zico's second-half strike was incorrectly ruled out for what it described as a non-existent foul in the ⁠build-up. Egypt were also incensed that a challenge on ‌Mohamed Salah was not penalised ‌moments before Argentina launched the move that produced the winning goal.

FIFA's Collina said VAR had correctly recommended overturning ‌Zico's goal after identifying a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez during the attacking possession phase.

"We believe that a foul is a foul," ‌Collina said. "Regardless ​of whether the foul ⁠appears 'obvious', if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene."

Collina also defended the decision not to award Egypt a penalty before Argentina's winner, saying both the referee and VAR judged the contact between Salah and Julian Alvarez ⁠to be "normal football contact".

"Stepping on an opponent's foot is a foul, whereas a defender who touches the ball first and then ‌makes normal football ‌contact has not committed a foul," he said.

While acknowledging that some decisions ​would always involve an element of subjectivity, Collina said FIFA was satisfied with how VAR principles had been applied throughout the tournament.

Key Event

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:29am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:29am

One change for France

By Henry Hanson

So, France boss Diddier Deschamps names one change to the side that battled to a 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the Round of 16, with Désiré Doué coming in for PSG teammate Bradley Barcola in attack.

He'll be joined creative powerhouse Michael Olise, reigning Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, and of course, captain and superstar Kylian Mbappé.

Adrien Rabiot and Manu Koné will provide the industry in midfield, while Lucas Digne retains his spot at left back.

The remainder of the defensive unit is very settled.

Key Event

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:25am

Fri 10 Jul 2026 at 5:25am

Good morning!

By Henry Hanson

Well, here it is.

The pointy end is upon us!

France and Morocco kick off the World Cup quarterfinals with a mouthwatering clash in Boston.

The French have looked absolutely irresistible at times during the tournament, but in Morocco, they face a side no stranger to making history, having become the first African side to reach the semifinals of a World Cup in 2022.

Today, they'll be looking to exact some revenge on the team that prevented them from being their continent's first to reach the final.

I'm Henry Hanson, and along with Amanda Shalala on the ground in Boston, and Andrw McGarry and Dean Bilton with me back in Australia, will keep you up to date with all the action.

Let's get into it.