07/09/26 03:02:00
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07/09 15:00 CDT France and Morocco meet again at the World Cup, this time in
the quarterfinals
France and Morocco meet again at the World Cup, this time in the quarterfinals
By KYLE HIGHTOWER
AP Sports Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) --- There are a lot of connections and familiarity on
the field for the World Cup quarterfinal match between France and Morocco.
France beat Morocco in the semifinals at the 2022 tournament in Qatar when the
Atlas Lions became the first African team to make it that far. France is
looking to remain on track to become only the third nation to play in the final
of three consecutive World Cups.
But it's much more than that.
As much Morocco wants to pull an upset over the favored Les Bleus on Thursday,
the team has plenty of ties to the opposing country.
Six Moroccan players --- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Senlis), Issa Diop (Toulouse), Neil El
Aynaoui (Nancy), Redouane Halhal (Montpellier), Samir El Mourabet (Strausbourg)
and Gessime Yassine (Salon-de-Provence) --- were born on French soil.
In addition, out of the 26 players on Morocco's squad for the World Cup, 19
were born outside that country.
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said it's helped broaden the country's World Cup
support.
"We have a huge fan base internationally speaking, and we're really proud of
this. There are Moroccan fans around the entire world, whether European or the
diaspora or the international Moroccans, they are behind us," he said. "They
are supporting us. We feel the energy, the positive dynamic they created for
us. ... In the difficult moments, we should think about those people, that
we're not alone. We're fighting for an entire nation, a country, and that has
helped us get more."
The links also extend to club play, with France captain Kylian Mbapp and
midfielder Aurlien Tchouamni both playing for Real Madrid alongside Morocco
midfielder Brahim Diaz.
Diaz, who has already played a big part in getting Morocco this far with a
team-high four assists, said it's added even more dimension to a matchup that
also carries much weight.
"They are my teammates on Real Madrid. They are brilliant players. Are
brilliant persons," Diaz said. "But (today) we are rivals. We both want to win
and this is the most important interest --- my team."
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See more of AP's World Cup coverage here
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