PARIS: France has urged its football fans to be responsible as their team prepares to face African champions Morocco on Thursday in a World Cup quarter-final, after previous high-profile matches led to unrest. Morocco won independence from France in 1956 and has a mostly settled relationship with the former colonial power, which is home to hundreds of thousands of Moroccans or French citizens of Moroccan descent. Several members of Morocco’s national team this year were born in France and play for French clubs. Team captain Achraf Hakimi was born in Spain but plays for Paris Saint-Germain.

France begin their final push towards a third World Cup crown on Thursday when they take on Morocco in a blockbuster showdown as a star-studded quarter-final line-up kicks off.

France take on Morocco on Thursday in a blockbuster World Cup quarter-final showdown as the largest and most logistically complex edition of the footballing showpiece ever staged…