A hamstring injury to one of the World Cup’s breakout stars is rippling well beyond the pitch. Ismael Saibari, the Moroccan forward who Bayern Munich recently signed from PSV Eindhoven for a fee potentially rising to €55 million, will miss his team’s quarterfinal clash against France in Boston on July 9.
Saibari went down just 22 minutes into Morocco’s 3-0 round-of-16 victory over Canada on July 5. He was forced off the field, and the initial fear was a severe tear that could end his tournament entirely.
An MRI conducted over the following days confirmed a minor strain rather than worst-case structural damage. Coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed Saibari won’t be available for the France match. He did travel with the squad, and Ouahbi indicated the forward isn’t ruled out for later rounds if Morocco advances.
Saibari’s performances throughout this World Cup have coincided with a notable surge in trading volumes for soccer fan tokens built on the Chiliz blockchain. Chiliz is the blockchain infrastructure behind Socios.com, the platform that powers fan tokens for dozens of professional sports teams. These tokens let holders vote on minor club decisions, access exclusive content, and speculate on team momentum and fan sentiment.
