See how many Moroccan players could defend France in the World Cup

Morocco and France face each other this Thursday (9) in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup. In the confrontation, part of the African team's squad could play for the European team. In total, six players playing for Morocco were born in France.

In the current edition of the World Cup, more than 250 players played for countries where they were not born. Morocco is the third team with the most athletes born in other countries, 19 in total: six in France, six in Spain, three in the Netherlands, three in Belgium and one in Canada.

One of the highlights of Morocco who chose to play for the African team, despite being able to defend France, is the young Ayyoub Bouaddi.

Former captain of the France under-21 team, Bouaddi plays for Lille and was born in Senlis, in northern France. He played for all of the European country's youth teams throughout his career.

However, in May, the 18-year-old midfielder managed to change his nationality approved by FIFA, which gave him the freedom to play for the African team.

In addition to the large presence of "foreigners" at this World Cup, a survey by the University of Oxford, in England, points out that in the last ten years, the Moroccan team had 61 people born in other countries, with around half of them choosing to play for the Moroccan team.

The teams will face each other again in a World Cup after the 2022 semi-final, when France eliminated Morocco 2-0. This time, the Moroccans arrive motivated after beating Canada 3-0 in the round of 16 and have not yet lost in the tournament.

France and Morocco face each other this Thursday (9), at 5pm (Brasília time), at Boston Stadium.

Morocco players who could play in France

- Issa Diop
- Redouane Halhal
- Neil El Aynaoui
- Samir El Mourabet
- Ayyoub Bouaddi
- Gessime Yassine

Other "foreigners"

- Munir Mohamedi (Spain)
- Achraf Hakimi (Spain)
- Chadi Riad (Spain)
- Ismael Saibari (Spain)
- Brahim Díaz (Spain)
- Ayoube Amaimouni (Spain)
- Zakaria El Ouahdi (Belgium)
- Bilal El Khannouss (Belgium)
- Chemsdine Talbi (Belgium)
- Noussair Mazraoui (Netherlands)
- Anass Salah-Eddine (Netherlands)
- Sofyan Amrabat (Netherlands)
- Yassine Bounou (Canada)

Morocco's highlight in the World Cup is announced by Bayern Munich

Source: CNN