France vs Morocco Predicted Lineups & Team News

We’ve got our first World Cup quarter-final coming our way on Thursday as France face Morocco in Boston (4pm local, 9pm BST, ITV1). 

Didier Deschamps’ side are targeting three World Cup finals in a row, and below you can find the latest France vs Morocco Predicted Lineups & Team News.

France 

Deschamps has seemingly found a fairly settled XI as his side have progressed through the knockout stages. He does have to decide whether to pick Desire Doue or Bradley Barcola on the left, with the two PSG wingers rotating so far at this World Cup. 

Barcola started in the battle with Paraguay, but it feels like Doue may get the nod for this one, against a more attacking Moroccon outfit. Aurelien Tchoumeni is a major injury doubt having missed the last-16 clash, with Kouadio Kone and Adrien Rabiot likely to continue their partnership in midfield. 

The Real Madrid man suffered a groin injury in the group stage and missed training at the start of the week, although he has not yet officially been ruled out. Elsewhere, Marcus Thuram is edging closer to a return having missed both knockout matches so far. 

Kylian Mbappe will hope to continue his outrageous goalscoring form, with Michael Olise providing the supply line from the number 10 position. Lucas Digne has established himself as the first-choice left-back ahead of Theo Hernandez.

Morocco

Morocco star Ismael Saibari is a major doubt for this quarter-final, having come off with a hamstring injury after just 22 minutes against Canada. It seems pretty unlikely he will be able to feature given the usual recovery time for a hamstring injury, with his tournament future in doubt.

Soufiane Rahimi replaced him in the last round and scored off the bench so he should start up top, with Azzedine Ounahi bagging two goals from the number 10 position. He hadn’t scored in 2026 but is now bang in form, and he is set to be flanked by Brahim Diaz and Bilal El Khannouss.

Teenage sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi was taken off after an hour but should start in midfield alongside Roma’s Neil El Aynaoui, while Achraf Hakimi will captain this side at right-back. Chadi Riad missed the last-16 game but should return in this one to partner Issa Diop at the back, with Noussair Mazraoui performing well at left-back.

Remember you can bet on this match and check out all of the live France vs Morocco Odds over on betfred.com

France vs Morocco Key Players:

Key Player - Michael Olise (France)

Obviously Mbappe is the main man and is likely to score the goals needed for France to progress. But Olise has been sensational at this World Cup, he had the most touches against Paraguay in a tough game and leads the way for assists at the tournament with five to his name so far.

Morocco are going to be tough to break down, and Olise holds the key to unlock their defence.

Key Player - Acraf Hakimi (Morocco)

PSG’s Hakimi is known for his attacking thrust down the right-hand side, but he is going to have his hands full dealing with France’s sparkling attacking. Club teammates Doue or Barcola will test him, while he also needs to be aware of Mbappe’s runs in behind. 

The way he performs and leads this Moroccon defence is going to be crucial. 

For all of our coverage and betting markets for the festival of football this summer, please check out our World Cup Odds over on betfred.com