Morocco and France meet again on Thursday at Gillette Stadium near Boston, in the opening match of the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup held in North America.

Morocco achieved an unprecedented feat for an Arab and African team when it reached the semifinals in Qatar in 2022, before the adventure ended at the hands of Kylian Mbappe and his French teammates, who lost the final to Lionel Messi's Argentina on penalties.

After a month of exciting competition that saw 280 goals in 96 matches, the number of teams has been reduced from 48 to 8, with the dream of winning the title nearing the final scheduled for July 19 in East Rutherford.

France has established itself since the start of the tournament as one of the top title contenders, but the impressive Morocco will try to exact revenge and thus end the journey of coach Didier Deschamps, who will leave his position with 'Les Bleus' after a 14-year tenure during which he won the 2018 title and reached the 2022 final.

Deschamps, one of only three men to have won the World Cup as both a player and a coach, said on Wednesday that he doesn't think much about his personal legacy, adding: 'I don't think about it at all. In my mind and with my staff, the goal is just to do everything we can to make things go well. My focus is on the Moroccan team and on making things work in our favor.'

The French coach also downplayed widespread concerns on social media about the appointment of Argentine referee Facundo Tello and the potential issue it could pose for his team.

It seems that France and Argentina are on course for a anticipated final rematch, repeating the '2022 scenario'.

Deschamps said: 'There are always decisions that can cause controversy, depending on which side you are on, but our opponent is Morocco. I cannot count the referee as an opponent.'

Deschamps enters history by leading his 25th match in the tournament, equaling the record, but achieving his 20th win is not guaranteed; 3 of France's World Cup losses this century (excluding penalties) have come against African teams (3 out of 6).

Morocco showed great efficiency in the round of 16, scoring 3 goals without conceding against Canada, one of the three host nations, from just 5 shots on target.

The 'Atlas Lions' are behind the only two unbeaten streaks for an African team over 5 matches in a single World Cup edition.

Morocco has the potential to test Deschamps' team, thanks to a strong mix of technical skill, physical strength, and tactical intelligence under the guidance of their coach Mohamed Ouahbi.

Deschamps said: 'We faced them 4 years ago in the semifinals, and they played the Africa Cup of Nations final,' adding: 'They are a very good team with excellent players, and they didn't get here by chance. It will be a match between two teams that like possession, attack, and scoring goals.'

From the Moroccan side, Sunderland winger Shamseddine Talbi said after Tuesday's training session: 'We feel good after recovering from the tough match against Canada, and now we are focusing on facing France and achieving our goal of reaching the semifinals.'

The substitute, who assisted the equalizer against the Netherlands in the round of 32, added: 'It's definitely a match that every child dreams of playing, but we must focus on ourselves, be at our best, and make our country very proud of us.'

Dutch PSV defender Anas Salah Eddine said: 'France has a good team, and so do we, and we have shown that so far in this tournament, and we are working hard in preparation for them.'

The winner of Thursday's match will face in the semifinals the winner of Friday's match in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.

Spain, which has not conceded any goal so far, is favored to overcome Belgium after eliminating Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo in the round of 16, while their neighbor and upcoming opponent achieved a resounding 4-1 victory over the United States in the same round.

On the other side of the draw, defending champion Argentina faces Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday, after reaching the quarterfinals with difficulty.

The South American side, aiming to become the first to retain the title since Brazil in 1962, struggled to overcome Cape Verde in the round of 32, then repeated the scenario on Tuesday in the round of 16 against Egypt, which seemed on its way to a stunning surprise by leading 2-0 until the 79th minute, before Messi and his teammates turned the tables to win 3-2 with a goal in stoppage time.

Messi, who missed a penalty in the first half, said: 'We didn't want it to end today. We didn't want to go home.'

Argentina or Switzerland will face the winner of the match between Norway and England, who meet in Miami on Saturday.

England reached the quarterfinals after a thrilling 3-2 win over Mexico, one of the three host nations, giving the 'Three Lions' renewed confidence in their quest for a first major title since 1966.

Standing in England's way is a strong Norwegian team led by striker Erling Haaland, who scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Brazil in the round of 16 on Sunday.

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