World Cup 2026, France vs Morocco LIVE: Mbappé's early effort saved as Les Bleus look dangerous

France win another corner, and Dembélé's delivery finds Adrien Rabiot, but the midfielder can't keep his header down, sending it well over the crossbar.

France carve Morocco open with a slick passing move. Michael Olise picks out Kylian Mbappé on the edge of the box, who cleverly slips the ball left to Désiré Doué. The winger delivers an inviting cross, but Ousmane Dembélé's header lacks power and drifts wide of the post.

Morocco win a free-kick after Lucas Digne catches Azzedine Ounahi near the touchline. Achraf Hakimi swings a teasing delivery into the penalty area, but the cross carries too long and drifts behind for a France goal kick.

12' William Saliba's misplaced pass falls kindly to Brahim Díaz, who drives forward with a surging run before France recover just outside the penalty area to snuff out the danger.

France's game plan is becoming increasingly clear—they are overloading the penalty area and creating space for their explosive wingers to attack. Mbappé remains the focal point up front, while Dembélé is posing a constant threat down the right flank. Morocco, meanwhile, have been pinned deep inside their own half, with the Atlas Lions struggling to break out under sustained French pressure.

Kylian Mbappé tries his luck from outside the box, but his curling effort drifts wide before the goalkeeper gets across to push it behind for a France corner. From the resulting corner, Upamecano gets a glorious chance to give France the lead, but his header is gathered comfortably by the Morocco goalkeeper.

France are enjoying the bulk of possession in the early stages, while Morocco are sitting deep and looking to recreate the swift counter-attacking threat that proved so effective in their 3-0 win over Canada.

Kick-off! The first FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal is underway as France and Morocco battle for a place in the semifinals.

According to the Opta supercomputer, France are the clear favourites to reach the semifinals, with a 61.7% chance of winning inside 90 minutes. Morocco have been given a 16.2% probability of securing victory in regulation time, while there is a 22.1% chance that the quarterfinal will require extra time.

At 27 years and 201 days, Kylian Mbappé is the youngest player to reach 20 appearances at the FIFA World Cup, breaking Wladislaw Zmuda's record (28 years, 34 days)

At just 18 years and 280 days old, Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi becomes the second-youngest player ever to start a FIFA World Cup quarterfinal. Only Pelé was younger, featuring for Brazil against Wales at the 1958 World Cup aged 17 years and 239 days.

Morocco make two changes for France quarterfinal. Chemsdine Talbi and Anass Salah-Eddine come into the starting lineup as the Atlas Lions look to reach the semifinals.
Morocco XI: Yassine Bounou (GK); Achraf Hakimi (C), Issa Diop, Noussair Mazraoui, Anass Salah-Eddine; Ayyoub Bouaddi, Neil El Aynaoui; Chemsdine Talbi, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El Khannouss; Brahim Diaz.

France have made one change to the side that beat Paraguay in the Round of 16, with Désiré Doué replacing Bradley Barcola, who drops to the bench.
France XI: Mike Maignan (GK); Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Koné, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué; Kylian Mbappé (C).

France topped Group I with a perfect nine points, defeating Norway, Senegal and Iraq in the group stage. Les Bleus then cruised past Sweden 3-0 in the Round of 32 before edging Paraguay 1-0 in a hard-fought Round of 16 clash to seal their place in the quarterfinals.

Morocco finished second in Group C with seven points, recording wins over Scotland and Haiti before earning a draw against Brazil. In the knockout stage, the Atlas Lions edged past the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties in the Round of 32 and then cruised to a 3-0 victory over Canada in the Round of 16 to book their place in the quarterfinals.

Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal between France and Morocco kicks off at 1:30 AM IST (Friday, July 10). Fans can watch the match live on DD Sports (free-to-air) and the Unite8 Sports network, while ZEE5 will provide live streaming across India.