Saibari Out for Morocco but Coach Says France Game Will Not Hold Any Surprises
Coach Mohamed Ouahbi said Morocco have 1 injury absence as they seek a place in the semifinals.
- Morocco star Ismael Saibari will miss Thursday's World Cup quarter-final against France at Gillette Stadium near Boston, coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury.
- Saibari was replaced in some discomfort 22 minutes into Morocco's 3-0 victory over Canada last Saturday; the attacking midfielder recently secured a $57 million transfer to Bayern Munich.
- "Everyone is 100% fit except Saibari," Ouahbi told reporters Wednesday, adding that "this game comes too soon for him but I hope he is not out for the rest of the competition."
- The Atlas Lions seek to avenge their 2-0 defeat against France in the 2022 semi-finals, marking their first meeting since that match in Qatar four years ago.
- Ouahbi rejected suggestions that reaching the quarter-finals is a success, declaring, "We absolutely want to win the game," and refusing to accept the tournament's remaining stages as merely a bonus.
51 Articles
51 Articles
France vs Morocco quarterfinal match guide: Can the dark horses stop Mbappe's men?
FIFA World Cup 2026: Morocco must find a way to cage in-form Kylian Mbappe if they are to think of beating France in the quarterfinal in Boston. Their task is made doubly difficult by the catastrophic loss of midfield anchor Ismael Saibari to a severe hamstring injury.
In the 8th final, Ismael Saibari is officially out on injury for the quarter against the Blues on Thursday, July 9th (at 10pm, in live comment on TF1info). The current best Moroccan scorer of the World Championship, hit with the ischios of the right thigh, "is not ready", confirmed his selectioner Mohamed Ouahbi. - World Cup 2026: Ismael Saibari package for France-Morocco, big hit for the "Lions de l'Atlas" (Sports).
France vs Morocco quarterfinal crucial as Mbappe shines and Saibari misses out
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts: France and Morocco meet on Thursday in the World Cup's first quarterfinal, reprising their engrossing semifinal in 2022.France again will be favoured after edging that meeting in Qatar 2-0 on an early first goal from Theo Hernandez and late second from Randal Kolo Muani.And this time, France's Kylian Mbappe enters in even better form than that of his Golden Boot-winning 2022 performance.Mbappe owns seven goals through…
Morocco dealt with major blow as star forward ruled out of World Cup quarterfinal against France
Morocco are looking to avenge their 2022 semifinal loss against France as they face the Les Bleus in the World Cup 2026 quarterfinal at the Boston Stadium. Meanwhile, the Atlas Lions have been hit with a major blow as Ismael Saibari has been ruled out of the clash.
The first quarter-final match of the World Cup between France and Morocco is a repeat of the semi-final from four years ago, which the French won 2-0. The Moroccans announced that they were without one of their star players.
Ismael Saibari has not recovered in time for the quarter-final against France.
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