Credit: Jewel SAMAD / AFP via Getty Images

(CNN)-- France, under the leadership of head coach Didier Deschamps, faces Morocco at Gillette Stadium on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup.

In a press conference held on Wednesday, Deschamps was asked about his stance on the appointment of an Argentine officiating crew led by referee Facundo Tello.

Didier Deschamps replied, saying: 'I'm not afraid of that. Sometimes you might wonder, but I work on the principle that appointments are made and I have no say in them. I hope the Argentine referees are as competent as (French) referee François Letexier, who officiated another match (Egypt vs Argentina). Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee,' according to Euro Sport.

François Letexier had received criticism from players of the 'Pharaohs' and their coach Hossam Hassan, who claimed he was biased in favor of Lionel Messi's teammates during the match that ended with a 3-2 victory for the 'Tango' team.

The Egyptian Football Association had expressed its dissatisfaction with the refereeing performance in the match and affirmed its commitment to 'taking all procedures permitted by regulations to preserve fairness and integrity of the competition'.

Regarding the match against the 'Atlas Lions', Deschamps said: 'Morocco's style of play is different from Paraguay's. We played against Morocco four years ago in the semi-finals, and they reached the Africa Cup of Nations final. Both teams tend to possess the ball and score goals. We must be at our best because we will face a strong opponent.' He added: 'They changed their coach, but they are still a strong opponent based on their results. They have great players who know our players well, and my players know them well too, as some play for the same club.' He continued: 'We have faced some strong opponents, we managed to make some matches easier, but we also faced some difficult matches. We didn't reach the quarter-finals by chance. The higher you go in the rankings, the harder the competition.'