Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi admitted his side had been made to suffer by France’s quality in a 2-0 World Cup quarterfinal defeat on Thursday, saying the first half in particular exposed how difficult it can be to cope with a team possessing such attacking talent.
Morocco’s hopes of returning to the semifinal stage, where its historic 2022 run had ended, were extinguished by goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, with Ouahbi acknowledging that France had been the better side long before the breakthrough arrived.
“We wanted to go on, but the first half was very complicated,” Ouahbi said. “The French side was very good on the ball, and they caused us a lot of problems on the sides. And when we had possession, we were not good in transition.”
Morocco spent much of the opening period pinned back by France’s speed and movement, with Yassine Bounou forced into a string of early saves, including from Mbappé’s penalty. Ouahbi felt his side improved after the break, when it had more control of the ball and transitioned better, but conceded that France’s superiority had already put the game on terms Morocco struggled to change.
“The beginning of the second half was better when we had more ball control and were better in transition,” he said. “But we have to recognise they have great players and they could have scored before. We would have liked to see how they would have reacted if they had not scored. We lacked ideas and we have to accept this defeat.”
Ouahbi rejected any suggestion that Morocco’s approach had been too cautious, insisting his team’s defensive line was shaped by the demands of the opponent.
“I don’t set my team to defend high or low, we do it depending on the game,” he said. “We were not able to defend high today, but we were alright with a low block.”
For all the disappointment, Ouahbi sees the defeat as part of a longer journey.
“We are not looking for excuses,” he said. “We played a very good side. It is difficult to talk about regrets when you are in a quarterfinal. We have a young team and talented players and we will continue to grow.”
Ouahbi also pointed to the broader structures supporting Moroccan football, saying the national team had the backing and ambition to keep pushing deeper into major tournaments.
“We have everything we need,” he said. “We have a king who invests, and we can only go forward from here.”
He was generous in his assessment of France, calling it one of the most complete teams in the tournament and a side whose calmness and attacking quality made it a serious contender to reach yet another final.
“The French national team is beautiful, and they have had a great team for a long time,” Ouahbi said. “They have a federation that works well, they have reached the final twice, and they have a lot of talent and players who make the difference on the field. France has incredible attacking players and they are very collected, they don’t get worked up, and they have the quality to go to the final.”
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Published on Jul 10, 2026