Morocco Coach Mohamed Ouahbi Praises France After 2026 World Cup Quarter‑Final Loss
Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi conceded that France earned their 2‑0 victory as the Atlas Lions were eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the quarter‑finals at Boston Stadium on Thursday, July 9.
Les Bleus advanced to the semi‑finals courtesy of goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé.
Mbappé redeemed himself after an earlier penalty miss, scoring his eighth tournament goal before setting up Dembélé for his fifth, securing a last‑four showdown with either Belgium or Spain.
Ouahbi admitted his side found it difficult to handle Didier Deschamps’ squad, especially before halftime.
He was quoted by FIFA.com saying, “We have to admit we faced a very good opponent. We struggled a lot in the first half, and [Yassine] Bounou’s penalty save kept us in the game.”
He added, “We defended better in the second half and were calmer in possession. In the end, it was an individual piece of brilliance from [Kylian] Mbappé.”
Ouahbi expressed disappointment but stressed the need to keep working, noting the squad needs more depth on the bench to cope with injuries, absences and fatigue.
Despite the setback, the Morocco boss insisted the team’s recent progress gives fans reason to stay hopeful.
He said, “The future will be bright if we continue like this, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t want to win today. Of course, we wanted to win today. We did everything we could to win, but we faced a very difficult opponent.”
He concluded, “It’s a disappointment, of course, but we’ll keep working for the future. We know we represent more than just one country. We represent the Moroccan people, and many nations across Asia and Africa. Many people see themselves in this team, and we’ll keep working to win titles in the future.”
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