Morocco will be without one of their brightest stars when they take on France in Thursday’s FIFA World Cup quarter-final after midfielder Ismael Saibari was ruled out through injury.
Head coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed on Wednesday that the Bayern Munich midfielder has not recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered during Morocco’s 3-0 victory over Canada in the Round of 16.
“Everyone is 100 per cent fit except Saibari,” Ouahbi told reporters before the match at Gillette Stadium near Boston. “This game comes too soon for him, but I hope he is not out for the rest of the competition.”
Saibari’s absence is a major setback for Morocco. The 25-year-old has been among the tournament’s standout performers, scoring in each of the Atlas Lions’ three group-stage matches before calmly converting the decisive penalty in the shoot-out victory over the Netherlands in the last 32.
The midfielder recently completed a reported €50 million move from PSV Eindhoven to Bayern Munich, further underlining his growing reputation in European football.
His injury opens the door for striker Soufiane Rahimi, who replaced him against Canada and marked his appearance with Morocco’s third goal.
Morocco chasing history again
The quarter-final also carries emotional weight for Morocco, who were beaten 2-0 by France in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup after becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach the tournament’s last four.
Ouahbi insists his players are not satisfied with simply matching another deep World Cup run.
“We absolutely want to win the game tomorrow, so we will not listen to people who say it doesn’t matter if we go out now,” he said.
“Tomorrow we will try to get to the semi-finals. I don’t like this sentiment that we have already done well and anything else is a bonus.”
The coach, who succeeded Walid Regragui in March, said memories of the 2022 defeat remain, but his focus is firmly on creating a new chapter.
Diaz relishing France test
Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz believes Morocco have already shown they belong among the world’s elite and can compete with one of the tournament favourites.
The attacking midfielder is set to come up against club teammate Kylian Mbappe but insists Morocco will not be intimidated.
“Tomorrow we are playing one of the favourites, but we have shown we can compete and that is why we are here,” Diaz said. “I have full faith and full confidence in the team.”
France enter the contest as favourites, but Morocco have built a reputation for upsetting expectations on the biggest stage. Even without Saibari, the Atlas Lions believe another memorable result is within reach.
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