Morocco will be without attacking midfielder Ismael Saibari when they take on France in their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final on Thursday — a rematch that carries the weight of the Atlas Lions' semi-final exit at the hands of Les Bleus in 2022.

Saibari had been one of Morocco's standout performers during the group stage, scoring in all three matches: a 1-1 draw with Brazil, a 1-0 win over Scotland, and a 4-2 victory against Haiti. The 25-year-old, who completed a move from PSV Eindhoven to Bayern Munich this summer, also converted the decisive penalty in Morocco's last-32 win over the Netherlands.

However, his tournament took a damaging turn when he was substituted after just 22 minutes of Morocco's 3-0 victory over co-hosts Canada in the round of 16, having suffered a hamstring injury.

Ouahbi's cautious hope

Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed the news but stopped short of ruling Saibari out entirely. "He's not ready but I hope it's not the end of the tournament for him," Ouahbi said, speaking via BBC Sport ahead of the quarter-final in Boston.

Olise yellow card stands

France, meanwhile, have received their own setback. An appeal to FIFA to have Michael Olise's yellow card rescinded — received during Les Bleus' 1-0 last-16 win over Paraguay — was unsuccessful.

Olise was booked after grabbing the shirt of Matias Galarza in stoppage time, with Galarza going to the ground following the altercation. The Bayern Munich winger has contributed five assists at the 2026 World Cup and would miss France's semi-final against Spain or Belgium should he collect another yellow card against Morocco.

"The yellow card has not changed. We were notified by FIFA this morning, it has been maintained," France manager Didier Deschamps confirmed on Wednesday ahead of the match at Boston Stadium.

The decision stands in contrast to FIFA's handling of United States striker Folarin Balogun's red card, which was controversially overturned — allowing Balogun to play in a 4-1 defeat against Belgium in the last 16, following reported intervention from US president Donald Trump.

Bradley Barcola and Manu Kone also picked up yellow cards for France in the Paraguay match. Referee Ilgiz Tantashev issued no bookings to any Paraguay player during that game.