2018 World Cup champions and 2022 runners-up France are gearing up to take on Morocco in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup in Boston on Thursday, in what is slated to be the most intense and tightly contested knockout game of the tournament so far.
Les Bleus last faced the Atlas Lions in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in a semifinal fixture where they were able to come out ahead with a 2-0 win, ending an extraordinary World Cup run for Morocco which saw them eliminate Spain and Portugal.
Aside from the purely sporting angle of Morocco seeking revenge for that defeat, the match also includes intrigue off the field.
With Morocco being a former French colony and a large Moroccan diaspora population living in France, many in both countries will see tonight's encounter as much more than just a football match.
This time around, Morocco has consolidated what many believed was a rare performance, playing outstanding football throughout the group stages which saw them draw with Brazil and knockouts which sent a solid Dutch team packing.
