France vs Morocco Predictions

• France beat Morocco 2-0 in the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago
• France have won five of their last six games by two or more goals
• Morocco have lost four of their five previous meetings with France, with one draw

Stubborn Morocco await France

France had to dig deep in their last 16 win over Paraguay and now face another tricky assignment against Morocco in the quarter finals on Thursday.

The Atlas Lions are on an incredible 34-game unbeaten run after their 3-0 win over Canada in the last 16. They do have a poor record against Les Bleus with four losses and a draw in five previous meetings, losing 2-0 the last time these sides met in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

France can win with room to spare

Morocco may be on a lengthy unbeaten run but they haven’t faced a side as strong as France during that period. The North Africans came into the World Cup with high hopes after winning the AFCON title, albeit in controversial circumstances, but they are yet to really impress and they were second best for large periods against Canada and a 3-0 margin of victory flattered them.

France had to cope with some gamesmanship from Paraguay but they still managed to grind out a win. Morocco will look to keep things tight and try and hit the tournament favourites on the break, but if France can find an early breakthrough they should be able to win by more than one goal.

An Mbappe strike the standout bet

The best bet for this game is an anytime effort for history chasing Kylian Mbappe, who is bidding to become the first man to win the Golden Boot twice after topping the scoring charts in Qatar four years ago.

Mbappe just about leads the way as he is tied on seven goals with Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland, but the Frenchman also has two assists which gives him a narrow lead over his two closest rivals.

The Real Madrid star has scored in four of his five World Cup appearances and has three goals in the knockout stages. Mbappe will also be on penalty duties so he should be able to add to his haul against Morocco.

A 3-0 win for France is the correct score pick as the European heavyweights have three clean sheets in their last four games, and had scored at least three goals in all of their World Cup games until they came up against Paraguay.

Morocco haven’t conceded more than twice in any of their last 36 games but they did ship two goals against minnows Haiti in the group stages. A late France goal could also be on the agenda if they are ahead in the closing stages and Mohamed Ouahbi’s side are chasing the game, so three Les Bleus goals seems reasonable.