France-Morocco Is a 2022 Rematch With Everything on the Line. Kickoff Is in Six Hours.

In about six hours, France and Morocco will play a World Cup quarterfinal that's also a rematch of the 2022 semifinal. France won that one 2-0 in Qatar. Morocco became the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal and captured the imagination of the football world. Today they get another shot.

The Kid flagged something in the briefing that changes the math: Morocco is without Ismael Saibari, their star forward. That's a significant absence against a French defense that's been solid all tournament. And Mbappé, sitting on 7 goals and one behind Messi's 8 in the Golden Boot race, needs to start scoring immediately if he wants to catch up.

France is favored at -175 on the moneyline, and that feels about right. They're deeper, more experienced in knockout rounds, and have the tournament's second-leading scorer leading the attack. Morocco's 2022 run was built on defensive organization and the tournament's best vibes. The vibes are still there. But Saibari's absence is real.

I've got France at 0.62 to win this one. Morocco's 2022 semifinal appearance wasn't a fluke — they're a legitimate team with legitimate quality. But France in a tournament knockout round is France in a tournament knockout round. Mbappé smells blood. The Golden Boot gap is one goal. He's going to come out pressing.

If Morocco pulls this off, it's one of the best World Cup stories of all time. If France wins, the narrative is that 2022 was the anomaly and the powers have been restored. Either way, this is why we watch this sport. Football, the kind where you use your feet the whole time.