Morocco will have to face France in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final without the services of their in-form striker Ismael Saibari. Despite the injury news, Morocco’s head coach Mohamed Ouahbi has made it clear that the team will stick to their footballing identity as they look to secure a historic ticket to the semi-finals.
Saibari sustained a hamstring injury during Morocco’s comprehensive 3-0 victory over Canada in the Round of 16 and has been unable to get fit for Thursday’s high-stakes matchup against the two-time world champions.
“He’s not ready, but I hope it’s not the end of the tournament for him,” Ouahbi told reporters.
The PSV Eindhoven forward has been a revelation for Morocco during this campaign, scoring in each of their three group-stage games before stepping up under pressure to score the final penalty kick in a dramatic penalty shootout win against the Netherlands in the Round of 32.
“With regards to preparing for the match, there will not be any surprises. I have nothing to hide. I’m not somebody who is keen on surprises, and those of you who have analysed our games, you know that we have a clear idea of how we want to play,” he said.
“Of course, the key will be to hurt them when we have possession, but it’s not only on the wings. We have to be patient with the ball, and to find where we can go through on the sides or in the centre,” added Ouahbi.
“We’ve proven that we can hurt any team, and that’s the goal. But I’m not going to go into too many details,” he said.
Morocco-France will be the rematch of the 2022 WC semifinal
This quarter-final will also be a direct rematch of the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final in Qatar, where France brought an end to Morocco’s fairytale run with a 2-0 victory. However, the Moroccan manager strongly believes that his squad have undergone a change over the last four years.
“Every match is different, has its own context, its own history, and it’s not going to be the same as in 2022,” he concluded.
(With inputs from ANI)
