France vs Morocco LIVE: Michael Olise appeal rejected by Fifa as Atlas Lions hit with injury blow | OneFootball

Tournament favourites France face their biggest test of the World Cup so far as they take on dark horses Morocco in a repeat of the 2022 semi-final.

Didier Deschamps have stamped their mark as the team to beat at this summer’s finals with Kylian Mbappe spearheading an attacking powerhouse that breezed through the group stage and last-32, but they endured a more difficult outing last time out against a Paraguay team intent in deploying underhanded tactics.

Mbappe’s spot-kick proved the difference in a 1-0 win to send them through but France will need to return to their ruthless best against Morocco, who have impressed en route to the quarters and comfortably dispatched co-hosts Canada in the previous round.

The Atlas Lions will also be fuelled by the opportunity to exact revenge on Les Bleus for their 2-0 defeat in Doha, which ended their surprise run to the last-four.

France v Morocco

Tournament favourites France meet Morocco in a repeat of a semi-final from Qatar in 2022 as Kylian Mbappe and company aim to reach the last four again.

Mbappe remains firmly in the golden boot hunt, trailing Lionel Messi by a goal, and will be hoping to keep his run going against the tournament’s only remaining African team.

Morocco have impressed en route to the quarters and comfortably dispatched co-hosts Canada in the previous round. They will also be fuelled by the opportunity to exact revenge on Les Bleus for their 2-0 defeat in Doha.

Good afternoon!

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s World Cup action.

It’s the start of the quarter-finals and about the time that the remaining teams begin to believe that they can go all the way.

Only three matches separate the last eight nations in the tournament from history and glory but they will need to take it one game at a time if they are to come out top.

Tonight’s first quarter-final sees France, champions in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, take on African champions Morocco.

The match is also a repeat of the 2022 semi-final in which the French proved triumphant.

Will that also be the case tonight?

We’ll have all the team news, updates and more throughout the afternoon so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 9pm.