France v Morocco: Prediction, team news, lineups and odds | OneFootball

Following the conclusion of the last-16 stage of the 2026 World Cup, France get the quarter-finals underway with a clash against Morocco.

Morocco reached this stage by beating the Netherlands in a penalty shootout and recording a 3-0 win over co-hosts Canada, while France beat Sweden 3-0 in the round of 32 and then squeezed past Paraguay in the last-16.

This game is also a repeat of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, where goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani saw France progress to the final.

France v Morocco kick-off time

France v Morocco kicks off at 9pm BST on Thursday (4pm local), July 9 at the Boston Stadium.

France v Morocco how to watch

The game will be shown live in the UK on ITV1, with coverage starting at 8pm.

BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT will both provide full match commentary.

France team news

France vice-captain Aurelien Tchouameni missed the last-16 tie against Paraguay after picking up a minor thigh injury in training.

The Real Madrid midfielder has since been spotted in individual training, but he remains a doubt for this quarter-final clash. If he isn’t available, Manu Kone will once again start alongside Adrien Rabiot.

Marcus Thuram has missed both of France’s knockout games so far due to a calf injury, but he is expected to be back in the matchday squad against Morocco.

Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue have been battling for the left-wing spot, with the former starting three games and the latter starting two.

But Doue may get the nod for this game after he came off the bench to win the decisive penalty against Paraguay.

FIFA have dismissed an appeal to rescind Michael Olise’s yellow card against Paraguay, and a booking in this game would make the forward miss a potential semi-final. Kone and Barcola are also on a yellow card.

Morocco team news

The only blemish from Morocco’s 3-0 win over Canada came when Ismael Saibari, who has scored three goals at this World Cup, was forced off the pitch with a muscular problem in the 22nd minute.

While scans have shown that the injury isn’t as serious as initially feared, the new Bayern Munich signing still faces a race against time to be fit for the quarter-final.

If he isn’t fit enough to play, Soufiane Rahimi is expected to start up front for Morocco after replacing Saibari against Canada and scoring the final goal in that game.

Chadi Riad is back in training after missing the Canada game, so he should be able to resume his centre-back partnership with Issa Diop.

Diop is one of five Morocco players on a yellow card in the knockout stages, alongside Achraf Hakimi, Redouane Halhal, Azzedine Ounahi and Bilal El Khannouss.

France v Morocco odds

France are at 8/13 to win in 90 minutes and book their place in the semi-finals. Morocco are 6/1, while The Draw is 3/1.

In the ‘To Qualify’ market which also brings extra-time and penalties into play, France are 1/4 to go through while Morocco are 10/3 to advance.

France started the 2026 World Cup as 9/2 joint-favourites with Spain to lift the trophy, but are now just 21/10. Morocco are 35/1 to win the World Cup.

The winner of this tie will face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals.

France v Morocco prediction

France have been the most impressive side at this World Cup and boast a perfect record of five wins from five matches, scoring 14 goals and conceding just two in the process.

They have also reached the semi-finals in four of the last five major tournaments, with the one exception being a last-16 exit at Euro 2020.

But Paraguay showed that France can be frustrated with resolute defending, and Morocco will be looking for revenge after losing against Les Blues in the 2022 semi-final.

We’re expecting a tight-fought contest at the Boston Stadium, but France’s attacking players should ultimately make the difference. Draw-France in the Half-Time Full-Time market is available at 18/5.

France won 2-0 in the 2022 semi-final, and a repeat of that scoreline can be backed at 7/1.

Following his penalty against Paraguay, Kylian Mbappe has now netted the opening goal in four of France’s five games at the 2026 World Cup.

The Real Madrid forward is 10/3 to be the first goalscorer once again.

Olise has provided five assists at this tournament and the most in a single World Cup is six, which came from Brazilian legend Pele in 1970. He’s 21/10 to equal the record against Morocco.