FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — France coach Didier Deschamps spent most of his World Cup news conference Wednesday fielding questions about a multitude of off-field issues related to his men’s soccer team, from racist remarks aimed at star forward Kylian Mbappé to officiating concerns to his own future.
Meanwhile, authorities in France are preparing for unrest related to Thursday’s quarterfinal clash with Morocco at Gillette Stadium, the home of the NFL’s New England Patriots and Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution. Several thousand police officers are expected to be deployed across France because the 2022 World Cup semifinal between the North African nation and its former colonial ruler from Europe led to more than 250 arrests, many of them in Paris.
Even apart from those concerns, France versus Morocco might be the most intriguing of the four quarterfinal matchups that will take this year’s World Cup — the first with a 48-team field — down to its last quartet of teams standing. Belgium faces Spain on Friday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and there are two matchups Saturday, when England takes on Norway at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, before reigning champion Argentina plays Switzerland that night at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
France beat Morocco 2-0 in the semifinals four years ago in Qatar. With a victory this time, France would continue its bid to become only the third country to reach the final of three successive World Cups, joining five-time champion Brazil and four-time winner Germany. Morocco was the first African team to make to a World Cup semifinal in 2022.
“We met them four years ago in the semifinal. They also played in the African final. It is a really great, excellent team with top-notch individuals. They’re not here to play. They’re there to win,” Deschamps said. “They like to attack to score goals. We have to be ready.”