Foxborough, July 9 (IANS) Morocco have been dealt a big blow ahead of their crucial FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter-final clash against a strong France side, as their prime forward Ismael Saibari has been ruled out of the match due to injury.

Morocco head coach Mohammed Ouabhi confirmed Saibari’s exit in the pre-match press conference on Thursday. According to Ouabhi, the forward could not recover on time after picking a hamstring injury during Morocco’s round of 16 victory against Canada. However, the coach is hopeful that the 25-year-old will be fit for the semi-finals if their team makes the cut.

“He’s not ready, but I hope it’s not the end of the tournament for him,” Ouahbi told reporters ahead of the clash.

Saibari is one of the top performers for the African side in the ongoing tournament. He scored a goal in all three group stage matches and also converted the penalty in the decisive shootout against the Netherlands in the round of 32. His absence will force Morocco to adopt a more defensive approach against the 2022 World Cup runners-up.

FIFA has sparked a massive debate ahead of the World Cup quarter-finals by appointing an entirely Argentine officiating crew for France’s clash against Morocco, marking the first time in the 2026 tournament that a match will be handled exclusively by officials from a single nation. However, Morocco’s coach has downplayed the impact of the officials.

“Regarding the referees… we’re talking about a very experienced referee,” he said at his pre-match news conference. “That’s what we want. We want experienced referees for these types of matches. So we’re very calm.”

“We had a Dutch referee before facing the Netherlands, and he did very well. So that’s not something we really talk about because we know that they’re just trying to do their best. The referee we’ll have against France is not so quick to give bookings, and that can have an impact, but I would not say anything against the quality of the referees,” he added.

France and Morocco have played each other six times across all competitions, with France holding the advantage with four wins, one draw, and one win for Morocco. Both teams played in the historic 2022 World Cup semi-final, where the Atlas Lions suffered a 2-0 defeat and were knocked out of their first semi-final in FIFA World Cup history.

–IANS

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