Anticipation crackles around Boston Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, the home of the NFL’s New England Patriots and the New England Revolution of the MLS, as the World Cup 2026 quarter-final between France and Morocco gets underway. The teams are out, with Morocco in their first-choice red and France sporting their change kit of mint green. The national anthems were sung, with Morocco’s speaking of “heading for grandeur”.
Morocco got the ball rolling, launching it into play. The early moments saw a lot of France possession, accompanied by quite a bit of whistling as they attempted to establish some order. It was 32 degrees in Massachusetts, described as “Positively British”.
Early Exchanges and French Pressure
Just five minutes into the match, Kylian Mbappe took a speculative whack at goal from distance. Morocco’s keeper, Bounou, wasn’t taking any chances and tipped it around the post. The subsequent corner came in from the left, with Upamecano meeting it.
However, Upamecano mistimed his jump and, falling backwards, only sent a weak header straight at the keeper. Bounou still needed to make the save, which he did with a strong hand. Morocco then worked to calm things down a bit with some sterile domination, passing it back, forth and around the defence in the seventh minute.
Pre-Match Sentiments and World Cup Reflections
Pre-match discussions included whether Morocco would allow France the time and space to show off or force them into a tougher game. One observer suggested the French were in for a long shift, potentially leading to penalties. Another reflected on the tournament’s broader trends, noting an unprecedented nine African teams and three Concacaf in the knockouts, contrasting with six European teams in the last eight.
Hopes were expressed for a World Cup where four teams in the last four had never won the tournament, listing Norway, Morocco, Switzerland, and Belgium. There was also a retrospective thought on Scotland’s performance, with a sentiment that they probably played their best match against Morocco and were slightly unlucky not to get the point that would have seen them qualify for the knockouts.