Ismael Saibari, Morocco’s most prolific attacker at this World Cup, will not feature in Thursday’s quarter-final against France after failing to recover from a hamstring injury sustained in the round of 16. Head coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed the news on the eve of the match at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, telling reporters that the game had come “too soon” for the 25-year-old, who had scored in all three group-stage fixtures and converted the decisive penalty in the shoot-out victory over the Netherlands.

The injury occurred inside the opening 22 minutes of Morocco’s 3-0 win against Canada in Houston, when Saibari pulled up clutching the back of his right thigh and was replaced by Soufiane Rahimi, who went on to score the third goal. Medical scans have not been made public, but Ouahbi said the player was not yet ready, while holding out hope that he could return later in the tournament. Saibari’s absence strips the Atlas Lions of a forward who joined Bayern Munich from PSV Eindhoven this summer for a reported €50 million, a record sale for the Dutch champions, and who had become the first African to score in every group match of a single World Cup.

Ouahbi dismissed any suggestion that the quarter-final itself represented a satisfactory campaign. “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, adding that he would not alter the team’s established playing style. That sentiment was echoed by Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz, who insisted Morocco could compete with a France side he knows well from club football. Analysts in Southeast Asia have noted a broader tactical evolution among African teams, pointing to Morocco as an example of a side that no longer relies solely on physical strength but has developed a sophisticated tactical identity.

The match is a direct rematch of the 2022 semi-final, which France won 2-0 to end Morocco’s historic run as the first African and Arab nation to reach the last four. European data models give Les Bleus a 60.9% probability of victory inside 90 minutes, with Morocco’s chances estimated at 16.9%. Yet the same models and international betting markets acknowledge that the encounter is likely to be tighter than those figures suggest, given Morocco’s defensive organisation and rapid transitions. France enter the contest with a perfect record in the tournament, while Morocco are unbeaten in ten matches since losing the Africa Cup of Nations final in January.

The winners will face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals. For Morocco, a victory would match their best-ever World Cup performance and keep alive the possibility of Saibari returning to the pitch before the tournament concludes.