France vs Morocco LIVE: Michael Olise appeal rejected by Fifa as Atlas Lions hit with injury blow

France collected three yellow cards in their previous round during a testy match against Paraguay.

The South American side received none.

Didier Deschamps was asked for his thoughts on the standard of refereeing at the World Cup.

“It is out of our control,” he said.

“I trust the refereeing. … Some refereeing decisions may lead to discussions. It really depends on everyone’s opinion.

“Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee. The referee is there to apply fairly the laws of the game.”

Didier Deschamps is leaving his position as France manager at the end of the World Cup campaign and with the team now in the knockout rounds any match could be his last.

But he is not thinking about stepping away just yet and has his sights set on beating Morocco tonight.

“Thank you for your concerns. But I do not think about it,” he told the media when asked what he will do after France go out.

“The last game could have been the last one. In my head, with the technical staff, we want to win. That’s the objective.

“In a football game there are many possibilities when it comes to [the[ result. … I’m focused on the Moroccan team so we can win that game.”

France are proving their worth as ‘one of the best attacking teams ever’ and, as Miguel Delaneywrites, they look primed to go all the way at the 2026 World Cup

With only eight teams left in the World Cup the odds have shortened on potential winners.

France have been one of the favourites to win the competition since the beginning but England’s victory over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium has given them a boost.

Check out the latest odds for who can win the World Cup:

1. France 🇫🇷 ↔️

France are the team to beat at this World Cup. While their closest challengers on the other side of the bracket have, so far, been carried by one exceptional superstar, Didier Deschamps has put together a so far untouchable unit powered by its unleashed attacking ranks.

They hit 10 goals in the group stage before adding three more to no reply against Sweden to progress to the last 16 – and while their 1-0 win over Paraguay last time out wasn’t as emphatic as previous results, some leeway can be given due to the – let’s be honest – shameful tactics of the South American side.

Kylian Mbappe’s penalty winner took his all-time World Cup tally to 19 goals – sorry Mirsolav Klose, your record has been blown out of the water twice this tournament.

Spain came into this tournament as the favourites but didn’t exactly show that right from the outset, unlike their two main challengers either side of them in these rankings. That frustrating opening 0-0 draw with Cape Verde in Group H delivered one of the early shocks of the World Cup, though with Lamine Yamal back fit in the side they managed build up some steam – first with the thrashing of Saudi Arabia (as they were expected to do) before sealing top spot in the group by overcoming Uruguay in a fiery clash. In the knockouts, however, Spain are beginning to really look like potential winners.

After brushing Austria aside in a 3-0 last-32 win, Spain broke Portuguese hearts (including Cristiano Ronaldo’s) courtesy of a last-gasp Mikel Merino winner to seal their place in the quarter-finals. It wasn’t the most spectacular performance in a largely cagey affair, granted, but dumping out a big hitter will always get you points, no matter the method.

3. England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ⬆️

Those last 20 minutes of normal time, plus 11 agonising minutes in stoppages, were some of the longest in memory. But after putting in the defensive shift of their lives – Dan Burn, I’m pointing at you – Thomas Tuchel’s men got over the line in Mexico City. National pride spiked at 4am, a World Cup dream renewed. To quote the late, great Eddie Guerrero, viva la raza. Norway next.

4. Argentina 🇦🇷 ⬇️

The Pharaohs had a goal disallowed in the first half for a foul many considered way too far back in the build-up to justify action, while Mohamed Salah thought he should have had a penalty before the Argentina counter-attacked and found their stoppage-time winner. Mostafa Ziko, who saw his goal chalked off before scoring anyway in the second half, has accused the World Cup of being “fixed” as a result. It’s an ugly look for Argentina, whose very lucky – and arguably wrongful – escape against a significantly weaker side pushes them down in these rankings.

5. Morocco 🇲🇦 ⬆️

The Afcon (sort of) champions impressed in the group stage, especially in their opening draw against Brazil where they were the better side, but were punished for not scoring big against Scotland or Haiti as they ran out second in Group C, setting up a match with big hitters Netherlands in the round of 32’s most-stacked tie.

Cue a match filled with last drama and one of the most bewildering penalty shootouts in World Cup history, which saw five out of 10 spot-kicks missed – with Morocco the victors. After inflicting one of the two biggest eliminations of the last-32, Morocco have now dumped out one of the hosts in a dominant win over Canada, and are very much succeeding in their bid to prove their 2022 semi-final run was no fluke.

6. Norway 🇳🇴 ⬆️

Norway hadn’t been at a World Cup in 28 years before making their return to the global stage in North America – they now look like they’re here to stay. Powered by Erling Haaland’s goals, they head to the quarter-finals off the back of the biggest scalp in their history, dumping out five-time winners Brazil in an upset that, on paper, looks seismic, but was actually very much on the cards if you’d watched both teams this tournament. Haaland scored both in the 2-0 win in New Jersey (because of course he did) to propel himself among Messi and Mbappe in the golden boot race, and now stares down the barrel of a last-eight meeting with the Three Lions – unfortunately for Tuchel, Haaland has a knack for scoring against English defences.