France are aiming to become just the third side ever to reach three successive World Cup semifinals when they take on Morocco in FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinals on Thursday.
Published: July 9, 2026, 12:16 PM IST
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Kylian Mbappe’s France suffered due to controversial officiating in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match vs Paraguay. (Photo: IANS)
France vs Morocco FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarterfinal: The 2018 World Cup champions France are set to go up against Morocco in the first quarterfinal match of FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Gillette Stadium in Boston on Thursday. Amid charges of FIFA and its officials favouring the defending champions – Lionel Messi’s Argentina – France and Morocco have to deal with an all-Argentine line-up of officials for their quarterfinal clash.
FIFA have sparked off another massive debate ahead of the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals by appointing an entirely Argentine officiating crew for France’s match against Morocco. It will be the first time in the 2026 tournament that a match will be handled exclusively by officials from a single nation.
France head coach and 1998 World Cup winner Didier Deschamps was unfazed by the appointment of all Argentine officials for their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal. Deschamps said their opponent is ‘Morocco, not the referee’.
The decision has raised eyebrows across the footballing world and social media alike, given the intense recent history and rivalry between ‘Les Bleus’ and the ‘Albiceleste’, who faced off in the 2022 World Cup final which Messi’s side won via penalties.
“We have to deal with it. I trust the referees. Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee,” Deschamps said in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “Let’s hope our (officials) are as good as Monsieur Letexier was.”
The match officials for @FIFAWorldCup match 97 have been appointed.
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) July 7, 2026
FIFA confirmed that 44-year-old official Facundo Tello, Juan Pablo Belatti, Gabriel Chade and Dario Herrera were named to officiate the quarterfinal. Fans of France national team were already aggrieved by the quality of officiating in their clash against Paraguay in the Round of 16 stages where their opponents were handed a single card in spite of it being a very physical contest.
Meanwhile, Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi also downplayed the impact of the officials. “Regarding the referees… we’re talking about a very experienced referee,” he said at his pre-match news conference in Boston. “That’s what we want. We want experienced referees for these types of matches. So we’re very calm.
“We had a Dutch referee before facing the Netherlands, and he did very well. So that’s not something we really talk about because we know that they’re just trying to do their best. The referee we’ll have against France is not so quick to give bookings, and that can play an impact, but I would not say anything against the quality of the referees,” Ouahbi added.
Two-time World Cup winners France have reached the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive time (2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026) and are aiming for a third straight semifinal appearance – a feat previously accomplished only by Germany (four times in a row between 2002 and 2014 and three times between 1982 and 1990) and Brazil (three times between 1994 and 2002).
Mbappe’s side will face Morocco in a rematch of the 2022 semi-final when the Atlas Lions became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals, but their journey ended there, as France won 2-0.
