France-Morocco rematch at Boston Stadium could be most intriguing World Cup quarterfinal

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — France coach Didier Deschamps spent most of his World Cup news conference on Wednesday fielding questions about a multitude of off-field issues, from racist remarks aimed at French star Kylian Mbappé, to officiating concerns, to his own future.

Meantime, authorities in France are preparing for unrest related to the Thursday’s quarterfinal clash with Morocco. Several thousand police officers are expected to be deployed across France after the 2022 World Cup semifinal between the North African nation and its former colonial ruler led to more than 250 arrests, many of them in Paris.

Even apart from those concerns, France-Morocco might be the most intriguing of the four quarterfinal matchups.

France beat Morocco 2-0 in the semifinals four years ago in Qatar. With a victory this time, France would continue its bid to become only the third country to reach the final of three successive World Cups, joining Germany and Brazil. Morocco was the first African team to make to a World Cup semifinal in 2022.

“We met them four years ago in the semifinal. They also played in the African final. It is a really great, excellent team with top-notch individuals. They’re not here to play. They’re there to win,” Deschamps said. “They like to attack to score goals. We have to be ready.”

Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said the Atlas Lions aren’t satisfied just getting back to this point of the tournament.

“I don’t like this feeling where we can say what we’ve done up until now is great and rest is bonus,” Ouahbi said. “No, the only bonus is to win the World Cup.”

Midfielder Brahim Diaz said Morocco’s 3-0 win over Canada in the round of 16 was indicative of how the team needs to play.

“This is our mentality,” Diaz said. “We want to keep going. … Everybody wants to play in this type of game.”

France’s Olise carries yellow card into quarterfinals

One of France’s key players may have to play with a little caution Thursday.

France’s appeal of midfielder Michael Olise’s yellow card during its 1-0 round of 16 win over Paraguay was denied by FIFA on Wednesday.

“We received FIFA’s decision this morning that the yellow card was maintained,” Deschamps said.

Ouahbi said Morocco won’t have midfielder Ismael Saibari, who left with a thigh injury against Canada.

If Olise were to receive another yellow card on Thursday, he would be suspended for the next game.

Olise was shown the yellow in the 97th minute following an altercation with Paraguay’s Matías Galarza.

Galarza went to the ground during a skirmish between the players, though video replays only showed Olise grasping the Paraguayan’s jersey before he toppled to the grass.

The appeal came after U.S. President Donald Trump made a phone call last week to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to make the case that U.S. striker Folarin Balogun should not have been suspended for Monday’s matchup with Belgium because of a red card in the Americans’ win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. FIFA lifted the suspension and cleared Balogun to play.

The decision ultimately didn’t help the U.S., which was eliminated with a 4-1 loss to Belgium.

Deschamps and France try to ignore off-field controversies

On Monday, Mbappé condemned racist comments made by a Paraguayan senator following the loss to France. Deschamps described his star player’s mood after the incident as focused.

“Kylian is OK. Whatever happens, I don’t want to look back and think about it again. He’s a very strong guy mentally and physically. He’s just focused on tomorrow’s game,” he said.

Officiating questions arose after three French players received three yellow cards during the ill-tempered game against Paraguay, in which only one postgame yellow was shown.

But Deschamps said his concern was minimal.

“It is out of our control,” he said. “I trust the refereeing. … Some refereeing decisions may lead to discussions. It really depends on everyone’s opinion. Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee.”

The 57-year-old Deschamps was also asked to ponder his own future; he plans to step down after the tournament. The captain of France’s 1998 World Cup-winning squad has been its coach for the past 14 years and led France to the 2018 World Cup title.

“The last game could have been the last one,” he said. “In my head, with the technical staff, we want to win tomorrow. That’s the objective. In a football game there are many possibilities when it comes to tomorrow’s result. … I’m focused on the Moroccan team so we can win that game.”

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