Qatar World Cup Semifinal Rematch: Friendship First? Or Advancement First?

Written by Han Bing At 4:00 AM Beijing time on July 10, the first quarterfinal of the USA-Mexico-Canada World Cup will take place at Foxborough Stadium. France and Morocco, who faced off in the semifinals four years ago, now clash early in the quarterfinals. For Deschamps, who will step down after the World Cup, this is his 25th World Cup match as head coach, equaling the record of former West German great Schon. A victory to reach the last four would put Deschamps alone at the top.

Returning to Foxborough Stadium is a positive sign for the French team. In their final group stage match, they defeated Norway 4-1 here. Notably, France wore their mint-green away kit in that game, and they will don the same uniforms for this match, which French media and fans consider a good omen.

Morocco has also won at this venue, beating Scotland 1-0 in the group stage. As of now, Morocco is undefeated in 10 matches across all competitions. However, in their last six encounters, France has four wins and two draws without losing. The Moroccans hope to end this winless streak and seek "revenge" for their semifinal loss four years ago.

According to L'Équipe, given the deep friendship between Mbappé and Achraf, the match atmosphere is unlikely to be as tense as the Round of 16 clash against Paraguay. Many players from both sides have been club teammates. Morocco's Diop was a member of France's 2016 U19 European Championship-winning team, playing alongside Thuram and Mbappé, and he shares Toulouse youth academy roots with Rabiot and Koné. He also frequently chats with Dembélé.

Like Diop, newly naturalized Moroccan midfielder Bouaddi will face off against his former French youth international teammates Risser, Cherki, Emery, Doué, and Akliouche. Brahim and Theo have played over 100 games together at AC Milan, and they were also teammates with Tchouaméni and Mbappé at Real Madrid. Koné will encounter his Roma teammate El Nave, and Upamecano is well acquainted with former Bayern teammate Mazraoui…

However, Morocco's coach Wahbi stated before the match that he dislikes the feeling of "we've already done well" or "everything else is a bonus." He emphasized that the team will not approach the game with a "losing is okay, France is the favorite" mentality. "We are playing to reach the semifinals, just as if we were on the same starting line as our opponents," he said.

Currently, injuries are a concern for both teams. Tchouaméni, Rabiot, Upamecano, and Saliba did not participate in Monday's training, but media reports suggest their injuries are not serious. Relatives and girlfriends of more than 20 players were allowed to watch training to create a relaxed atmosphere. This included Emery's girlfriend, who is a goalkeeper for PSG's women's team, Rabiot's mother and brother, as well as friends and family of Gusto, Lacroix, and assistant coach Stéphane.

Thuram, who suffered a hamstring injury, started team training on Monday. Tchouaméni requires further observation and is unlikely to start, meaning Koné will likely replace him. Additionally, the left wing remains a question mark for France's starting lineup, with both Doué and Barcola having a chance to start.

Morocco's main injury concern is Sebari, who was substituted early in the Round of 16 due to a hamstring strain. If he cannot recover, Rahimi may start. Moreover, starting center-back Riad was replaced by Khalkhali in the last round due to injury, and his availability for this match is uncertain. In Wahbi's view, Riad is crucial; his return would significantly boost Morocco's defense, otherwise it will be difficult to contain the golden attacking trio of Mbappé, Dembélé, and Olise.

FIFA's appointment of a five-man Argentine referee team led by Tello for this match has sparked widespread controversy. Four years ago, Tello officiated Morocco's 1-0 quarterfinal win over Portugal but has never refereed a French match. French media and fans believe it is inappropriate to assign a referee from a country that is a major rival for France's title hopes. However, French referee Letexier previously officiated Argentina's quarterfinal against Egypt, though his decisions drew strong dissatisfaction from the Egyptian side.

Compared to the referee controversy, Le Parisien is more concerned about France's yellow card suspension risks. World Cup yellow cards are reset after the group stage and after the quarterfinals. Currently, Olise and Koné each have one yellow card, while Morocco has four players—Achraf, Diop, Khalkhali, and Hannouss—carrying yellow cards. If they receive another yellow card in the quarterfinal, they will be suspended for the semifinal.

The newspaper's statistics show that among the quarterfinalists, Morocco and France are more prone to yellow cards: Morocco receives a yellow card every 10 fouls (6 yellows from 61 fouls), while France gets one every 12 fouls (4 yellows from 49 fouls). In comparison, Norway averages one yellow card every 24 fouls (2 yellows from 48 fouls), and Argentina averages nearly 20 fouls per yellow card (3 yellows from 59 fouls). Therefore, France must carefully control the number and severity of fouls, especially for midfield core Olise. France previously appealed to have his yellow card rescinded, but FIFA rejected the request.

Tello is known as a "card master" in his refereeing career. In 2022, he officiated a match between Racing Club and Boca Juniors, issuing 10 red cards to players. In this World Cup, he has shown 7 yellow cards in two games. Among World Cup referees who have officiated two or more matches, only three have a higher average number of cards per game than Tello.

The match will be held at Foxborough Stadium in Massachusetts, but Paris is on high alert. Starting at 9:00 PM local time on July 9, several metro stations in Paris will close early, and public transport will be suspended throughout the Champs-Élysées area. Paris police also announced that fuel deliveries into the city will be banned from July 9 to 10, and from July 13 to 15, the transport, possession, and setting off of fireworks will be prohibited in Paris and surrounding areas.

The heightened vigilance by Paris police stems from the precedents set during the France-Morocco semifinal in Qatar four years ago. Large numbers of Moroccan immigrants and French fans clashed in central Paris and its suburbs. At that time, over 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Élysées alone, and incidents of looting and vandalism against street shops occurred. More than 100 people were detained on the scene, and nearly 300 were arrested across the Île-de-France region. Over 1,000 police officers were deployed to maintain order, resulting in chaotic scenes.

Recently, French police have received intelligence that extremist fan groups on both sides are preparing to act, necessitating preventive measures.

However, Paris Mayor Grégoire stated that while public safety is important, allowing Parisian fans to enjoy the match in public spaces is equally vital. Several squares in Paris will set up big screens to broadcast the game live, and some pedestrian zones will remain open until 2:00 AM to enable fans to fully enjoy the match and celebrate afterward.