ByShaimaa Khalil

North America Correspondent, Los AngelesAtLos Angeles

Published

1 hour ago

France against Morocco represents more than a standard World Cup quarter-final. For numerous Moroccan supporters, it represents unfinished business.

Four years earlier, France halted Morocco's remarkable World Cup journey in Qatar, eliminating the first African and Arab side to advance to a World Cup semi-final.

On Thursday in Boston they face each other once more, yet this time Morocco arrive not as the sport's dreamers.

They arrive convinced they merit their place.

"This counts as a revenge fixture for the Moroccan national team," says Moroccan sports journalist Hamza Shteiwy.

"Particularly for the athletes who featured in that 2022 squad. They absorbed that defeat profoundly, and now they aim to even the ledger - for themselves and for the side."

'What occurred in Qatar was no accident'

I still recall standing inside Al Bayt Stadium that evening in Qatar. Even after the loss, there existed a feeling that something remarkable had taken place. Morocco had altered how the football community viewed them.

Back then, merely reaching the semi-finals seemed like a wonder.

Today, reaching the semi-finals would simply satisfy expectations.

"In 2022 we stood as the dreamers," says Shteiwy. "Now expectations run much higher. Anything short of the semi-finals would not register as success."

That assurance rests on more than memory.

Since Qatar, Morocco's Under-20 side captured the Under-20 World Cup, the senior squad rose to sixth in Fifa's rankings, and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation's sustained focus on youth development starts to yield results.

"What occurred in Qatar was no accident," says veteran Moroccan journalist Hameed Bel Hassan.

"It stemmed from years of deliberate planning and initiatives established by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. This forms a national effort. We now possess a powerful national team."

Morocco have appeared every inch the firm contenders across this event, confronting several of world football's leading sides with assurance, control and conviction. They drew with Brazil before defeating Scotland, the Netherlands and Canada to arrange another encounter with France.

"Deep trust exists in this side," says Shteiwy.

"Flights packed with fans travel from Morocco to the United States. Moroccans from across the globe have journeyed to support the team. I would argue Morocco will command the louder backing."

France, though, stay perhaps the tournament's most polished unit.

With Kylian Mbappe guiding one of the world's most gifted squads, Les Bleus have advanced to the quarter-finals displaying some of the event's most seamless play.

"On an individual level they hold the edge," Shteiwy concedes.

"Yet Morocco's midfield stands comparable. Should they apply pressure on France early, as they managed against Brazil, they can generate difficulties. The eleven players must operate as a unit."

But Morocco hold that their power reaches past tactics.

Role of the players' mothers

One distinctive aspect of the Atlas Lions' ascent has been the visible presence of the players' mothers. During the 2022 World Cup, scenes of Achraf Hakimi hugging his mother and Sofiane Boufal dancing with his on the field became iconic images of Morocco's historic campaign. This tournament has delivered further such scenes, including Ismael Saibari sprinting into the stands to embrace his moved mother after netting the decisive penalty against the Netherlands.

When the squad returned home from Qatar, the players and their mothers received a joint welcome from King Mohammed VI.

Far from random festivities, Morocco's football authorities describe these instances as part of a considered approach.

RMFF president Fouzi Lekjaa has called having players' mothers attend major tournaments "one of the most effective and positive psychological support strategies" employed by the federation, noting it supplied the players "real impetus".

"When the player spots his mother in the stands, it delivers a major lift and drive," says Bel Hassan. "The players themselves have described the sense of support they receive.

"A mother's prayer, little else compares," he added.

That focus on family, conviction and emotional strength has formed part of Morocco's character, alongside sustained investment in youth development, facilities and a defined footballing plan.

A rivalry rich in history

This fixture carries significance beyond the pitch.

France and Morocco share an extended and complex past, marked by colonialism, migration and one of Europe's largest Moroccan communities.

Many of the families travelling to support the Atlas Lions will have departed from France.

Several Moroccan internationals could have played for France but selected the nation of their parents and grandparents instead, a choice that renders this contest as much about identity as football.

For Shteiwy, that supplies another dimension to Thursday's meeting.

"There exist players who appeared for France's youth sides," he says. "They will now compete with strong emotions and will seek to show they could have represented Les Bleus, yet chose the land of their roots instead."

Hakimi versus Mbappe - club colleagues, close friends and, for one evening, opponents - has emerged as the sporting emblem of that narrative.

Thus the question extends beyond whether Morocco can overcome France.

It concerns whether the side that surprised the globe in Qatar can demonstrate that campaign marked not the summit, but the base.

In Qatar, Morocco created history. In Boston, they hold the opportunity to show it marked only the start.