Soccer-France start with Doue instead of Barcola, Diaz to operate as lone striker for Morocco


Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Quarter Final - France v Morocco - Boston Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, U.S. - July 9, 2026 France's Desire Doue arrives at the stadium before the match REUTERS/Mike Segar

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts, July ⁠9 (Reuters) - France will start with attacking midfielder ⁠Desire Doue as coach Didier Deschamps opted ‌to leave Bradley Barcola on the bench, in a tactical change for the 2018 world champions in their World ​Cup quarter-final against Morocco on ⁠Thursday.

• In a rematch ⁠of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, apart from ⁠Barcola, ‌the France starting 11 is unchanged from their 1-0 win over Paraguay in ⁠the round of 16, with Kylian Mbappe ​and Ousmane ‌Dembele spearheading the attack, backed by Michael ⁠Olise.

• Morocco ​are without key forward Ismael Saibari, who was injured in their last match.

• Coach Mohamed Ouahbi ⁠brings in defender Anass Salah Eddine ​and midfielder Chemsdine Talbi, with Brahim Diaz playing as a lone forward.

• The winners meet Spain ⁠or Belgium in the last four.

Lineups:

France - Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, ​Desire Doue; Kylian Mbappe (captain)

Morocco: Yassine ⁠Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Noussair Mazraoui, Anass ​Salah Eddine; Neil El Aynaoui, ‌Chemsdine Talbi, Ayyoub Bouaddi, ​Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El Khannouss; Brahim Diaz;

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Others Also Read