Reaching the quarter-finals of a second consecutive FIFA World Cup™ is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement for , now the first African side ever to accomplish the feat, even if the Atlas Lions were unable to progress to the semi-finals as they did at .
It was never going to be easy facing a perennial favourite like France, one of the top contenders for the title after winning it in Russia 2018 and finishing as runners-up four years ago. Indeed, Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi admitted after that France had allowed his side very little opportunity to dictate the tempo.
“We have to acknowledge that we were up against a very difficult opponent,” Ouahbi said. “We struggled a great deal in the first half, but Bounou’s penalty save kept us in the game.
“In the second half, we defended better and were calmer in possession. We started the second half well, but their goal came from a rather strange sequence – a scramble, really – and was what ultimately led to the goal.”
Ouahbi took charge of Morocco in March, barely three months before the start of the World Cup. He believes the future holds even greater promise for this side, particularly given he led Morocco to the title at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™.
“It was difficult in the end, but we have to keep believing and keep working,” Ouhabi said. “We need to work on the fundamentals so that when injuries strike, or when players aren’t at their best, we have a wider range of options on the bench that we can rely on. We will carry on. We won’t stop here. We’re disappointed because we wanted more, but we have to accept what happened today.”
He added: “The future looks bright for Morocco if we continue on this path. We have a strong group of players and some outstanding young talent. We’ll remain confident, and we won’t allow this defeat to discourage us.”
Ayyoub Bouaddi, one of the breakout young talents of the 2026 World Cup, also acknowledged the challenge of facing Mbappe and France. Morocco had wanted to dictate the tempo, but found themselves unable to do so against such a formidable opponent.
“We wanted to play our usual game, and we’d worked on certain aspects of that with the coach in training, but football isn’t an exact science, and things didn’t go the way we’d planned,” Bouaddi said. “We have to adapt. Our opponents played well, and we have to accept that.
“Before the match, we knew we were facing a very strong French team. We knew it would be difficult and that we’d have to put in a huge effort, and that’s exactly what the players did. Everyone gave 100%. But that’s football: You can’t win every match.”
Bouaddi reflected on the significance of facing France in the World Cup quarter-finals and echoed his coach’s sentiment that the tournament has been a valuable learning experience.
“This match will help us develop for future tournaments because it showed us what we’re missing and what small details we need to address if we want to go even further,” he said.
Sources: FIFA Official
