Ismael Saibari fitness concern for Morocco ahead of France World Cup quarter-final clash

Morocco's next challenge at the 2026 World Cup – a quarter-final showdown with heavyweights France – could become even tougher if Ismael Saibari is ruled out of the match due to injury. The Atlas Lions secured a 3-0 last-16 win over co-hosts Canada in Houston where Azzedine Ounahi's second-half brace helped Morocco advance to the quarter-finals for a second successive World Cup . While the result also meant Morocco are now unbeaten in 34 matches, their latest win came at a cost when leading scorer Ismael Saibari had to leave the pitch with a suspected hamstring injury after just 22 minutes and was replaced by Al Ain striker Soufiane Rahimi. The 25-year-old attacker, who has emerged a standout performer for Mohamed Ouahbi's team, scored in all three group-stage matches and has also just completed a dream move to German champions Bayern Munich from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. However, the immediate concern is whether his sparkling tournament in North America has been brought to a premature end. “Saibari had some pain in his thigh. We will know more in the next few days,” Ouahbi said. Morocco will almost certainly turn to Rahimi again if Saibari is ruled out, after the substitute made a big impact following his early introduction. The 30-year-old hit the bar with a looping header before coolly slotting him the third and final goal deep into stoppage time. In another worry for coach Ouahbi, reports suggest that centre-back Riad remains a doubt for the game. He picked up a knee injury in the last-32 win over the Netherlands and missed the match against Canada. Morocco are set to leave it as late as possible before making a call on the pair ahead of the match which takes place in Boston on Thursday (midnight Friday, UAE time). The North African side will aim to avenge the loss to France last time out which ended their dream run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in the semi-finals. But after reaching his team's second consecutive quarter-final, Ouahbi made it clear that his team's impact on the global stage should no longer surprise people . “We tried to make our players understand this is the World Cup, which means there will be difficult moments. What matters is that when we are not at our best, we need to be resilient,” he said. “We are no longer a surprise. Now when people talk about Morocco we are a major contender and it's a great source of pride. I think it's only the beginning and I hope we continue to have runs like this.” After the match, Canada manager Jesse Marsch claimed his side was “the better team” and that “as good as Morocco are, I'd rather be us than them”. But those comments were brushed aside by two-goal hero Ouahbi. “They were good, but it takes some nerve to say that when you lose 3-0,” he said when asked about Marsch's claims. “There was only one save from [Yassine] Bounou. In the second half, Canada were good, but they lacked efficiency. Then we created chances through the middle. “As I always tell the players, we are playing in the World Cup, so we will go through difficult moments. It is not normal to play every match comfortably. “When we are not at our best, we must stay united. In those moments, we remember who we are playing for, and that is exactly what the players showed during the match.”

Ismael Saibari fitness concern for Morocco ahead of France World Cup quarter-final clash

Atlas Lions' star performer picked up injury during win over Canada

Morocco beat Canada – in pictures