"The Atlas Lions" seek revenge against "the Roosters."

The French national team will have a revenge match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will take place in the United States and Mexico, after narrowly qualifying for the quarter-finals by defeating Paraguay in extremely hot conditions in Philadelphia, which was classified as the highest temperature for a match in World Cup history.

The "Roosters" needed 70 minutes to secure victory over Paraguay with a penalty goal scored by the team's star and all-time top scorer, Kylian Mbappé, who raised his tally to 7 goals, tying with Argentine star Lionel Messi at the top of the scorers' list for the 2026 World Cup, with Messi having a historical lead of 20 goals in the all-time World Cup scoring chart compared to 19 for the French star.

After eliminating Paraguay, which caused a huge upset by knocking out Germany on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Round of 32, the French team will face a heavyweight match against Morocco, in a game that will bring together the runner-up of the 2022 World Cup and the "Atlas Lions," who became the first Arab and African team to finish fourth in the history of the continent's participation in the World Cup.

The Moroccan team, led by their coach Mohamed Wahbi, will enter the match against France next Thursday evening in Boston, with a desire for revenge and to restore their honor, after the French team ended the Moroccan dream of victory with a 2-0 win in the semi-finals of the last World Cup nearly four years ago.

However, matches against Arab teams carry positive memories for the French, as they have been their gateway to continuing their World Cup journey in all previous editions.

The clash between France and Morocco will be the sixth encounter for the "Roosters" against Arab teams in the World Cup, with the story beginning 44 years ago when France defeated Kuwait 4-1 in the group stage of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

At that time, the goals for France were scored by Bernard Genghini, Michel Platini, Didier Six, and Maxime Bossis, while Alain Gires scored another goal for the "Roosters" that was disallowed after a protest from Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad, the president of the Kuwaiti Football Association, who entered the field, while Abdullah Al-Balushi scored the only goal for the Kuwaiti "Blue."

This wide victory was France's gateway to continue their journey to the end, but they lost to Poland 3-2 in the match to determine the bronze medal winner.

France won its first World Cup title when it hosted the tournament in 1998, defeating Brazil 3-0.

The "Roosters" began their journey to the "first star" in the group stage with an Arab match, where they won against Saudi Arabia 4-0, with Thierry Henry scoring a brace, and Bixente Lizarazu and David Trezeguet each scoring one. This match also saw the expulsion of French star Zinedine Zidane with a direct red card, as well as Saudi defender Mohammed Al-Khilawi.