World Cup Day 28: France and Morocco Meet Again
Argentina survived chaos, Switzerland ended Colombia’s run, and Morocco get another shot at the French team that stopped them four years ago.
Tuesday was brutal in two completely different ways.
Argentina looked gone for most of the afternoon. Egypt held a 2–0 lead, Lionel Messi had missed a penalty, and for a while it felt like the defending champions were about to follow Brazil, Germany and Portugal out of the tournament. Then Argentina did what Argentina have done for most of the Messi era: they found just enough belief, just enough pressure and just enough chaos to drag themselves back into the match. Cristian Romero started the comeback, Messi equalized, and Enzo Fernández won it in stoppage time to turn a disaster into another quarterfinal.
Egypt should still leave with pride, even if that will not make the ending easier to accept.
They gave Argentina real problems, forced the world champions into one of the wildest comebacks of the tournament and made Mohamed Salah’s World Cup run feel like something more meaningful than just a nice story. They also left with real frustration. Mostafa Ziko had a goal ruled out for a foul in the buildup, Egypt wanted a penalty after Julián Álvarez’s challenge on Salah, and Enzo Fernández scored the winner shortly after that sequence.
FIFA defended the decisions. Egypt clearly did not see it that way. This one will hurt for a while. They made Argentina suffer.
Then Colombia played Switzerland, and I still haven’t fully recovered.
The match itself was the kind of game that slowly ruins your afternoon. Colombia had chances. Gustavo Puerta hit one with real violence. Jhon Lucumí put a header off the bar. The crowd in Vancouver sounded like a Colombia home match, and for a long time it felt like one moment would finally break Switzerland’s structure. It never came.
Then came penalties, because the sport always needs one more way to make Colombia fans miserable. Cucho Hernández had his penalty saved, Davinson Sánchez hit the bar, and Ruben Vargas buried the decisive kick for Switzerland. Colombia lost 4–3 in the shootout after 120 scoreless minutes.
I hadn’t done predictions for Colombia games during this tournament, and yesterday was the reason. You can analyze the midfield, the wide areas, the absences and the matchups all you want. Once Colombia reach penalties, the analysis turns into pacing around the room and negotiating with every higher power you can think of.
Switzerland move on to face Argentina. Colombia go home with a tournament that was good, but not as long as it should have been. That is going to annoy me for a while.
Now Day 28 gives us a good one. France against Morocco. A quarterfinal in Foxborough. A rematch of the 2022 semifinal. One team that still looks like the safest bet in the field, and one team that has spent two World Cups making people stop treating them like a surprise.
Morocco wanted another chance at France. They have it now.
Morocco Get Their Rematch
This is not 2022 again, even if it is impossible to separate the matchup from that night.
France beat Morocco in the semifinal four years ago, but Morocco are not entering this match as a cinderella underdog anymore. They eliminated the Netherlands on penalties, handled Canada 3–0 and reached another World Cup quarterfinal with a team that looks comfortable in uncomfortable matches.
France are the kind of opponent that punishes teams for needing everything to go perfectly. Morocco do not need perfect. They need discipline, patience and a few moments where their right side can turn defense into pressure.
The Ismael Saibari injury is the biggest problem for Morocco. He has been one of their best players in this tournament, not just because of the goals, but because of how much he gives them between lines. Losing him takes away one of Morocco’s cleanest connectors and puts more responsibility on Brahim Díaz, Bilal El Khannouss and the wide players to create the same kind of threat.
That makes Achraf Hakimi even more important.
Hakimi is already one of Morocco’s main routes into games, but without Saibari, his timing on the right side becomes even more valuable. France will know the ball is coming there. That does not mean stopping it is simple. Hakimi can overlap, underlap, switch the angle of attack and give Morocco a way to move up the field without needing long spells of possession.
France’s left side has to manage that carefully. Lucas Digne gives Didier Deschamps a more traditional fullback profile, but whoever plays ahead of him has to help enough without allowing Morocco to pull France’s midfield too far toward the touchline. Morocco are dangerous when Hakimi creates the first problem and someone else attacks the space it opens.
France’s advantage is obvious. They have Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué and enough attacking options that every defensive adjustment creates another issue somewhere else. Paraguay made France work in the Round of 16, slowed the game down and kept it tight, but Mbappé still solved it from the penalty spot. That has been France’s tournament in one sentence. They just need one action that feels unfair.
The midfield battle is where Morocco can make this interesting. Azzedine Ounahi has to give Morocco calm in possession, Sofyan Amrabat has to protect the back line without getting dragged too deep, and El Khannouss has to help replace some of what Saibari normally provides. Morocco cannot spend the whole match clearing the ball and waiting for one counter. France are too good at punishing that style.
At the same time, Morocco should not turn this into a possession contest just to prove a point. Their best version is balanced: compact without being passive, brave enough to play through pressure, and direct enough to punish France when the fullbacks step high.
That is where Brahim Díaz becomes so important. Morocco are not using a traditional striker, which means Díaz has to connect everything. He has to give Morocco a way out when they break pressure, combine quickly with Hakimi and El Khannouss, and make France’s center backs uncomfortable by drifting into spaces instead of simply occupying them.
France may also have to think about game management more than usual. The quarterfinal is the last match before yellow cards are wiped, and players such as Michael Olise are one booking away from missing a potential semifinal. That does not mean France will play scared, but it is another little tournament detail in a match that already has enough tension.
I keep coming back to one question: can Morocco make France defend the match rather than simply manage it?
Paraguay made France uncomfortable, but not dangerous enough. Morocco have more ways to hurt France than Paraguay did, especially through Hakimi, Brahim and El Khannouss. They also have the emotional edge of knowing exactly what this matchup means. France ended their 2022 run. Morocco do not need anyone to explain the stakes.
The problem is that France are still France.
That sounds lazy, but it is not. It means they can be average for most of the game and still win. It means Mbappé can change a match before it has fully developed. It means Dembélé can spend 70 minutes frustrating a fullback and then create the one chance that decides everything.
Morocco can absolutely make this tense. France are just very hard to actually kill off.
Player to Watch: Achraf Hakimi
Mbappé is the obvious answer, but Hakimi feels like the player who tells us whether Morocco can make this game look different from 2022.
Morocco need territory, pressure relievers and moments where France’s back line has to turn toward its own goal. Hakimi gives them all three. His ability to carry the ball forward and combine quickly on the right side may be Morocco’s best way to avoid getting trapped in their own half.
He also has the emotional layer of facing Mbappé and France again, which makes the matchup even better. Hakimi has to be one of Morocco’s best players for this upset to feel real.
Prediction: France 2–1 Morocco
I want Morocco to make this uncomfortable, and I think they will.
They are good enough in transition for France to cruise through this match. Hakimi will create problems, Brahim will find pockets and Ounahi will make at least one moment in the box feel dangerous.
Saibari’s absence is the difference for me. Morocco can still compete without him, but France have too many ways to create chances and lots of individual quality once the match starts opening up. Mbappé gets his moment, Morocco answer, and France eventually find the second action that sends them into another semifinal.
Morocco are not a surprise anymore. France still have the game-changers.