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Morocco to face France in quarters without Saibari
Agency, Massachusetts
Published: 09 Jul 2026, 10:25 AM
Saibari, who sustained a hamstring injury in Morocco’s 3-0 Round of 16 win over Canada, has not recovered in time for Thursday’s match against the two-time world champions. Photo: REUTERS
Morocco are set to take on France in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final on Thursday without forward Ismael Saibari. Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed the matter.
Saibari, who sustained a hamstring injury in Morocco’s 3-0 Round of 16 win over Canada, has not recovered in time for Thursday’s match 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, according to Reuters. The PSV Eindhoven forward has been a key performer for Morocco, scoring in all three group-stage matches and converting the decisive penalty in the shootout victory over the Netherlands in the Round of 32.
Despite Saibari’s absence, Ouahbi stated that Morocco will maintain their playing philosophy. “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,” Ouahbi added. “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.”
Thursday’s fixture is a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, which France won 2-0. However, Ouahbi believes both teams have changed since then. “Every match is different, has its own context, its own history, and it’s not going to be the same as in 2022,” he said.