Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi admitted his side should have suffered from France’s quality in their 2-0 World Cup quarter-final defeat on Thursday. He said the first half in particular showed how difficult it can be to deal with a team that has such attacking talent.
Morocco’s hopes of returning to the semi-finals, where the historic 2022 run had ended, were extinguished by goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, with Ouahbi recognizing France were the better side long before the breakthrough arrived.
“We wanted to continue, but the first half was very complicated,” Ouahbi said. «The French side were 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 were limited by France’s pace and movement for much of the opening period, with Yassine Bounou forced into a series of early saves, including from Mbappe’s penalty. Ouahbi felt his side improved after the break, when they had more control of the ball and passed better, but admitted France’s superiority had already put the game on terms that Morocco struggled to change.
“The start of the second half was better when we had more ball control and were better in transition,” he said. «But we have to recognize that they have great players and that they could have scored earlier. 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 that his team’s line of defense was shaped by the opponent’s demands.
“I don’t set my team to defend high or low, we do it depending on the match,” he said. “We couldn’t defend high today, but we could with a low block.”
Despite all the disappointment, Ouahbi sees the defeat as part of a longer journey.
“We don’t make excuses,” he said. «We played a very good team. It’s difficult to talk about regrets when you are in the quarter-finals. We have a young team and talented players and we will continue to grow.»
Ouahbi also pointed to the wider structures supporting Moroccan football, saying the national team had the support and ambition to penetrate deeper into major tournaments.
“We have everything we need,” he said. “We have a king who is investing, and we can only go from here.”
He was generous in his assessment of France, calling them one of the most complete teams in the tournament and one whose composure and attacking quality made them a serious contender to reach 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 a difference on the pitch. France have incredible attacking players and they are very collected, they don’t get excited and they have the quality to go to the final.»
Published on July 10, 2026
