Quarterfinal play in the 2026 World Cup will begin Thursday with France facing Morocco in Foxborough, Massachusetts with free watch parties set for throughout Los Angeles County.
Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive tournament with a 3-0 victory over Canada in a round of 16 match Saturday in Houston.
France reached the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Paraguay Saturday in Philadelphia on Kylian Mbappé’s 70th-minute penalty kick.
Mbappé’s seven goals tie him for second in the tournament with Norway’s Erling Haaland, one behind Lionel Messi of Argentina.
Ismael Saibari leads Morocco with three goals, putting him in an 14-way for 11th.
France’s roster consists of eight players who play in France, seven in England, four in Italy, three in Spain, two in Germany and one each in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Morocco’s roster consists of five players who play in France, four in England, three each in Spain and Germany, two each in Belgium, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, and one each in Egypt, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates,
Mbappé and French midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni are teammates on the Spanish first division club Real Madrid with Moroccan forward Brahim DÃaz.
Les Bleus forwards Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery and defender Lucas Hernandez are teammates with Atlas Lions defender and captain Achraf Hakimi with Paris Saint-Germain of France’s Ligue 1.
Moroccan midfielder Neil El Aynaoui and French midfielder Manu Koné are teammates with AS Roma of Italy’s Serie A.
Saibari signed with the German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich last Wednesday where he will be a teammate of French forward Michael Olise and defender Dayot Upamecano.
France is first in the unofficial rankings released after the completion of Tuesday’s play by FIFA, soccer’s global governing body. Morocco is ranked sixth behind three European teams and two from South America.
The ranking is considered unofficial until all matches are approved as international `A’ matches. The latest official ranking was released June 11, the day the World Cup began.
Morocco is the last remaining African team in the tournament, joining six from Europe and Argentina, the lone South American team.
The Opta supercomputer gives France a 73.88% chance of advancing to the semifinals based on 10,000 pre-match simulations, Morocco a 26.12% chance.
The France-Morocco winner will face the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between Belgium and Spain at SoFi Stadium in a semifinal Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
Free watch parties will be held at Seoul International Park in Koreatown, Whitsett Fields in North Hollywood and the Sylmar Recreation Center as part of the Kick It In the Park program organized by various city of Los Angeles departments.
Attendance is limited to 1,000 people at a time. Alcohol sale, possession and consumption is not permitted. Attendees are advised by organizers to bring blankets, chairs, snacks and reusable water bottles.
More information is available at kickit.lacity.gov.
The Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in South El Monte has been designated as a Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Fan Zone from Thursday through Saturday. In addition to free viewing parties there will also be cultural activities, a local artisan marketplace, and a range of local food.
Free watch parties will also be held at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and the Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles.
The 1 p.m. match will be televised in English by Fox and in Spanish by Telemundo.