Morocco, France, Spain, Belgium, England, Norway, Argentina and Egypt are still in the hunt for FIFA World Cup glory after surviving the groups stages and the rounds of 32 and 16.
The quarter-finals promise four heavyweight encounters as teams from Europe, Africa and South America battle for places in the last four.
France and Morocco kick off the action in a clash between the tournament’s form side and Africa’s last remaining representative.
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PREVIEW: FRENCH FLAIR VS MOROCCAN MAGIC
France have won all five of their matches to date and look every bit like title contenders.
They opened with a 3-1 victory over Senegal before defeating Iraq 3-0. Next came an impressive 4-1 win over Norway, who recovered to reach the quarter-finals.
France then brushed aside Sweden 3-0 in the Round of 32 before edging Paraguay 1-0 to secure their place in the last eight.
They have scored 14 goals while conceding only two, underlining their dominance at both ends of the field. They are the form team of the tournament and red-hot right now.
Meanwhile, Morocco have once again carried Africa’s hopes with distinction, great pride and honour. Now, they carry the hopes of the entire African continent.
The Atlas Lions began with a 1-1 draw against five-time world champions Brazil, before beating Scotland 1-0 and Haiti 4-2 to top their group.
The African giants then continued on their giant-killing trend from four years ago.
Back in 2022 it was Spain and Portugal who were the slain giants. Four years later, it was the Dutch who were the next European giants to be conquered.
They eliminated the Netherlands (3-2) on penalties in the Round of 32 after an absorbing 120 minutes of action resulted in the score tied at 1-1.
They then defeated co-hosts Canada 3-0 in the Round of 16 to reach the quarter-finals.
Morocco are unbeaten and continue to demonstrate the defensive organisation and resilience that made them one of the stories of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
PREDICTION
France enter the contest as deserved favourites.
Kylian Mbappé has been in devastating form with seven goals from five matches, one goal behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi as the race for the Golden Boot heats up.
Meanwhile, Ousmane Dembélé has four goals and is one of the most dangerous and in-form footballers in the modern game.
As if that is not enough quality for the Moroccon defence to worry about, Michael Olise’s razor-sharp and pin-point passing accuracy will provide another threat.
Morocco have already shown they thrive as underdogs.
They carry the hopes of Africa as the continent’s final standing team. If they can frustrate France early and remain disciplined, another upset cannot be ruled out.
However, France’s firepower should prove decisive.
Anything can happen in football – after all, the ball is round. One thing that is guarenteed is high quality, high-intensity and world class football.
Prediction: France 2-1 Morocco
WHO DO YOU THINK WILL WIN THE FIRST FIFA WORLD CUP QUARTER FINAL BETWEEN FRANCE AND MOROCCO?
Give us your score predictions in the comments section below …
