Morocco's Star Saibari Out for World Cup Quarter-Final, Will Miss Clash Against France

2026 World Cup Key News

(Central News Agency, Foxborough, MA, July 8 - Combined Wires) Morocco's national team coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed today that star player Ismael Saibari will miss Morocco's quarter-final match against France in the World Cup.

According to AFP, the match will take place tomorrow at Gillette Stadium near Boston, USA. Ouahbi told reporters today that the Moroccan team is "everyone is in 100% best condition, except for Saibari. This match comes too early for him, but I hope he will not miss the rest of the tournament."

Saibari has been one of the standout players in this World Cup. He scored in all three group stage matches and netted the winning penalty in the Round of 16 shootout against the Netherlands, helping Morocco advance.

Saibari recently transferred from Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven to Bundesliga club Bayern Munich on a five-year contract, with the transfer fee reportedly reaching 50 million euros (approximately 1.8 billion New Taiwan dollars).

Morocco defeated Canada 3-0 in the World Cup Round of 16 on July 5, but Saibari had to leave the game early shortly after kickoff due to a hamstring injury, which has not yet healed.

Regarding suggestions that Morocco has already achieved success by reaching the quarter-finals of this World Cup, Ouahbi refuted this view.

He said, "We will strive to reach the semi-finals tomorrow. I don't like the feeling that we have already done well and any other result is a bonus." (Intern Editor: Tsai Ya-jung / Editor: Chang Cheng-chien) 1150709

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