Atlas Lions seek another semi-final run without star midfielder Saibari.
Morocco midfielder Ismael Saibari will miss the team’s World Cup quarter-final clash with France, head coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed on Wednesday.
“Everyone is 100 percent fit except Saibari. This match has come too soon for him, but I hope he is not ruled out for the rest of the tournament,” Ouahbi told reporters ahead of Thursday’s last-eight encounter at Gillette Stadium near Boston.
Saibari, who recently joined Bayern Munich from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven on a five-year deal reportedly worth €50 million ($57 million), has emerged as one of Morocco’s standout performers at the World Cup.
The midfielder scored in all three of his team’s group-stage matches and converted the decisive penalty in the shootout as Morocco defeated the Netherlands in the round of 32.
However, the attacking midfielder was forced off early with a hamstring injury during Morocco’s 3-0 win over Canada in the last 16 on Saturday and has not recovered in time for the quarter-final.
Soufiane Rahimi, a natural striker, replaced Saibari in that match and went on to score Morocco’s third goal.
The Atlas Lions are aiming to avenge their 2-0 defeat to France in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
That run made Morocco the first African and Arab nation to reach the tournament’s last four, and the team is now bidding to match that historic achievement with another semi-final appearance.
Ouahbi dismissed suggestions that reaching the quarter-finals alone should be considered a successful campaign.
“We absolutely want to win tomorrow’s game, so we won’t listen to people who say it doesn’t matter if we go out now,” said the coach, who succeeded Walid Regragui in March.
“Tomorrow we will try to reach the semi-finals. I don’t like the idea that we have already achieved something and anything beyond this is just a bonus,” added Ouahbi, who said he watched Morocco’s 2022 clash with France as a fan on television.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz insisted his team can compete with the heavily favoured French side as he prepares to face club teammate Kylian Mbappe.
“Tomorrow we are playing against one of the favourites, but we have shown that we can compete, and that is why we are here. I have full faith and confidence in this team,” Diaz said.
