France vs Morocco opens World Cup

France and Morocco opened the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals on Thursday, July 9, with the match scheduled in Boston after the tournament went dark for a day on Wednesday. FIFA’s match center listed kickoff for 20:00 local time on July 9 at Boston Stadium, while ESPN and Yahoo Sports identified the game as the first of the last-eight round. The quarterfinal bracket now has eight teams left: Argentina, Belgium, England, France, Morocco, Norway, Spain and Switzerland, according to ESPN’s quarterfinal preview and bracket page. Those four matches run from July 9 through July 11 and will cut the field to four semifinalists ahead of games on July 14 and July 15, with the final set for July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (fifa.com) ### Why did France-Morocco go first? Thursday’s match was the first quarterfinal on the calendar after no World Cup games were played on Wednesday, July 8, according to Yahoo Sports’ daily schedule and live bracket coverage. ESPN’s tournament schedule also showed the competition moving from the round of 16 into the quarterfinal phase this week. (espn.com) Yahoo Sports listed France vs. Morocco in Boston as the July 9 opener, followed by Spain vs. Belgium on July 10, then Norway vs. England and Argentina vs. Switzerland on July 11. ### Which teams are still in the tournament? ESPN’s quarterfinal preview said the remaining field consists of reigning champion Argentina plus Belgium, England, France, Morocco, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. (sports.yahoo.com) ESPN’s bracket page matched that list and showed the path from the round of 16 into the final four. (sports.yahoo.com) France reached this stage after beating Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16, while Morocco advanced with a 3-0 win over Canada, according to ESPN’s bracket. The same bracket showed Spain eliminating Portugal, Belgium beating the United States, Norway knocking out Brazil, England beating Mexico, Argentina defeating Egypt and Switzerland advancing past Colombia on penalties. (espn.com) ### What made this matchup stand out before kickoff? France and Morocco entered the game as a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semifinal, a point noted in pre-match coverage from Yahoo Sports and other match previews. FOX Sports’ game page listed France as the betting favorite and showed Kylian Mbappe leading France with seven goals entering the match, while Morocco’s leading scorers included Ismael Saibari with three. (espn.com) Yahoo Sports reported on Thursday that Morocco would be without Saibari after the midfielder was forced off with an injury in the previous round. That removed one of Morocco’s main attacking contributors before the quarterfinal began. ### How is the rest of the quarterfinal round set up? Friday, July 10, brings Spain against Belgium, and Saturday, July 11, has Norway against England and Argentina against Switzerland, according to ESPN’s bracket and Yahoo Sports’ schedule. (msn.com) ESPN listed the semifinals for July 14 and July 15. The winner of France-Morocco will move into the first semifinal on July 14 against the winner of Spain-Belgium, ESPN’s bracket showed. (sports.yahoo.com) The other side of the bracket pairs Norway or England with Argentina or Switzerland for the July 15 semifinal. ### Where does the tournament go from here? July 14 and July 15 are the semifinal dates, and July 19 is the date of the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, according to ESPN’s bracket page. (espn.com) The third-place match is scheduled for July 18 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Boston’s result on Thursday will decide the first team through to the semifinals, with Spain and Belgium next up on July 10 before the final two quarterfinals close the round on July 11. (espn.com) (sports.yahoo.com)