Morocco dealt with major blow as star forward ruled out of World Cup quarterfinal against France

Morocco have been dealt a body blow as their star forward Ismael Saibari has been ruled out of the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal against France on Friday (IST), head coach Mohamed Ouahbi revealed. Saibari, who has just joined Bayern Munich, was replaced after 22 minutes in Morocco's 3-0 round of 16 win against Canada in Houston due to a hamstring problem and has failed to recover for the important clash at the Boston Stadium, which kicks off at 1:30 AM IST.