The rendezvous between Morocco and France renews as they meet Thursday at Gillette Stadium near Boston, in the opening match of the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup held in North America.

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

After a month of thrilling competition that saw 280 goals scored in 96 matches, the number of teams has been reduced from 48 to 8, as the dream of winning the title draws closer in the final scheduled for July 19 at East Rutherford.

France has established itself since the start of the finals as one of the top contenders for the title, but Morocco, also impressive, will seek revenge and thus end the journey of coach Didier Deschamps, who will leave his post with Les Bleus after a 14-year tenure in 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 player and coach, said on Wednesday that he does not 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 simply to do everything we can to make things go well. My focus is on the Moroccan national team and on making things work in our favor.'

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

It seems that France and Argentina are on course for a potential final showdown, 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 consider the referee an opponent.'

Deschamps enters history by leading his 25th match in the finals, equaling the record, but achieving his 20th win is not guaranteed; three of France's World Cup defeats this century (excluding penalty shootouts) 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 across 5 matches in a single World Cup edition.

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

Deschamps said: 'We faced them four years ago in the semi-final, and they played in 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 clash between two teams that love 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 we are now focused on facing France and achieving our goal of reaching the semi-finals.'

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

For his part, PSV Eindhoven 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 semi-final the victor of Friday's clash in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.

Spain, which has not conceded a single goal so far, is favored to overcome Belgium after eliminating Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo in the Round of 16, while their neighbors and upcoming opponents achieved a crushing 4-1 win over the United States in the same round.

In the other side of the draw, defending champion Argentina faces Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday, after reaching the quarter-finals with difficulty.

The South American team, seeking to become the first to retain the title since Brazil in 1962, struggled to get past Cape Verde in the Round of 32, then the scenario repeated on Tuesday in the Round of 16 against Egypt, which seemed on course for a stunning upset 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 the end to be 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 quarter-finals after a thrilling 3-2 win over Mexico, one of the three host nations, giving the Three Lions renewed confidence in their quest for their first major title since 1966.

Standing in England's way is a strong Norwegian team led by striker Erling Haaland, who scored the winning goals against Brazil in the Round of 16 on Sunday.

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