★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ FIFA WORLD CUP ≡
● France 2, Morocco 0 ● This was a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi, won by France, 2-0, in 86 F and 60% humidity at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
France was on offense from the start, dominating the chances, but with Morocco taking possession time in between French attacks. The game looked to take a turn in the 25th, as French star striker Kylian Mbappe was brought down in the box by defender Noussair Mazraoui for a penalty.
There was a long review, but Mbappe finally got to take the shot in the 28th, with a stutter-step approach and a clean save by Morocco keeper Yassine Bounou! He guessed correctly. By the hydration break just after, France had 59% of possession and was 7-0 on shots.
More of the same in the rest of the half, with Bounou the hero again in the 35th with striker Desire Doue sending a right-footed shot from the middle of the field that the keeper kicked away, and another save of a ripped shot in the 46th by defender Lucas Digne, that hit the crossbar.
France had 13 shots before Morocco got its first at the end of the half, as a free kick was given for a handball just outside the box. Defender Achraf Hakimi took the kick, but send it wide of the French goal on the final play of the half. Thanks to some time holding the ball inbetween French attacks, Morocco ended with 51% of ball and a 0-0 score.
Morocco started on offense in the second half, but could not score, with the ball turning back to French attacks within 10 minutes. Mbappe finally broke through in the 60th, after a Moroccan turnover at the top of the box at the left side, and once he got possession of the loose ball, he curled a right-footed shot into the far right side of the goal for the 1-0 lead. He now has 20 World Cup goals in 20 World Cup games.
France continued to press and broke the game apart in the 66th as striker Ousmane Dembele moved right at the top of the box and sent a right-footer liner into the right side of the net for the decisive 2-0 lead. It’s his fifth goal of the tournament.
The hydro break showed France now with 52% possession in the game and 17-2 on shots. Mbappe went off with what appeared to be a foot injury in the 76th, but he was walking well.
Morocco worked for a comeback goal, but the French remained on the hunt for more and shots were 20-4 by the end of 90 minutes. It ended 2-0, with Bounou making six saves to one for France’s Mike Maignan. Morocco ended with 52% possession, but the French ended 22-5 on shots. The French continue their hunt for their third straight final.
≡ PANORAMA ≡
Three more quarterfinals to go:
Friday, 10 July:
● Spain vs. Belgium: In Inglewood. (3 p.m. Eastern)
Saturday, 11 July:
● Norway vs. England: In Miami Gardens. (5 p.m. Eastern)
● Argentina vs. Switzerland: In Kansas City. (9 p.m. Eastern)
The semifinals will be on 14-15 July in Arlington and Atlanta and the final in East Rutherford on the 19th. The third-place game in Miami Gardens will be on the 18th.
¶
Norwegian players complained about construction and road noise at their Ft. Lauderdale hotel in advance of Saturday’s match with England, and the team was relocated to another spot, closer to Hard Rock Stadium.
The team has also had issues with illnesses, but FIFA will pay for 50 rooms, security and transportation, while the Norwegian federation will cover any player charges for upgraded facilities.
¶
Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan told reporters after the stunning 3-2 loss to Argentina in the round-of-16 that “external factors” may have been in play:
“We looked better than the reigning champions – better in everything – but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it. Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted [Lionel] Messi to stay in the running.
“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every level.
“There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome. We were objecting to the selection of the referee because of the French situation [Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup final], but everybody has to suffer at some point, and we suffered.
“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out [a foul ruled on Mo Salah]. It was not even checked by the VAR [Video Assistant Referee], and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.
“I want to put it in beautiful words and say, ‘hard luck,’ but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice.”
¶
The news for U.S. star midfielder Christian Pulisic was worse than just the 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round-of-16 on Monday. U.S. Soccer said Thursday that he suffered a bone bruise and a microfracture of his right tibia and fibula, apparently in the 52nd minute while attempting a shot and hitting the leg of Belgian Youri Tielemans.
¶
The anger over FIFA’s review and revision of the red card given to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun brought a direct comment from the head of Spain’s La Liga, Javier Tebas. His comment included:
“The lifting of the suspension of American player Balogun is neither a mere anecdote nor an isolated mistake. It is, quite simply, the tip of the iceberg of a governance model that has been undermining the credibility of FIFA and football in general for many years.
When rules can be interpreted or changed at will; when the most far-reaching decisions are made without real dialogue or agreement with the national leagues — even though they are the ones that keep professional football alive 365 days a year (the vast majority of professional clubs and players do not take part in international competitions); when a unilateral agenda is imposed without listening to football’s main stakeholders, the problem stops being a specific decision and becomes the system itself. …
“The Balogun case only reinforces this perception; it is only the tip of the iceberg. Moreover, if rules are systematically applied arbitrarily, trust disappears. And without trust, there is no institutional credibility.
“Worse still, a large part of the football world is aware of this, but far too many people prefer to keep a complicit silence. Because staying silent is more comfortable than defending independence, transparency, and good governance.”
¶
FIFA said that a record total of 6,259,584 people have attended matches through the round-of16, with a per-match average of 65,204. The largest crowds have been at the Azteca in Mexico City (80,824 capacity) for five FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, with a total attendance of 404,120.
As for food: “More than 1.4 million bottles of water and 5 million beers have been sold during the tournament. More than 1 million concession items have been sold across Stadium Fan Experience areas alone, with the top three items being beer, water and pizza.”
A total of 607,350 hospitality packages have been sold so far across all venues:
“Sixty per cent of hospitality guests are regular fans looking for a premium experience, while 40 per cent are B2B clients. The three host nations – the United States, Mexico and Canada, in that order – account for 82% of customers. The UK, Brazil, Argentina, Qatar, India, Colombia and China complete the top 10. Hospitality packages have been sold to guests from 154 countries.”
The volunteer corps for the tournament has totaled 43,328 so far, from 162 countries and territories; the paid workforce is 4,738 people, from 134 different nationalities. FIFA noted a “total of 5,230 accredited media representatives.”
Also, FIFA stated that fan festival attendance has reached 7.7 million across all sites.
The top souvenir item is the team scarf, with 103,000 sold all together.
¶
The quarterfinals and the round-of-16 show that despite all of the improvement in teams around the world, it is still Europe which dominates the field of possible winners:
Quarterfinalists:
● 2026: 6 Europe, 1 South America, 1 Africa
● 2022: 5 Europe, 2 South America, 1 Africa
● 2018: 6 Europe, 2 South America
● 2014: 4 Europe, 3 South America, 1 CONCACAF
● 2010: 4 South America, 3 Europe, 1 Africa
Round-of-16:
● 2026: 7 Europe, 4 South America, 3 CONCACAF, 2 Africa, 0 Asia
● 2022: 8 Europe, 2 South America, 1 CONCACAF, 2 Africa, 3 Asia
● 2018: 10 Europe, 4 South America, 1 CONCACAF, 0 Africa, 1 Asia
● 2014: 6 Europe, 5 South America, 3 CONCACAF, 2 Africa, 0 Asia
● 2010: 6 Europe, 5 South America, 2 CONCACAF, 1 Africa, 2 Asia
In terms of advancement from the group stage, the big winner of the expansion to 48 teams and 32 in the knock-out round was Africa, and always-strong Europe also did better than in 2022:
● 13: Europe (of 16 entries; vs. 8/13 in 2022)
● 9: Africa (of 10 entries; vs. 2/5 in 2022)
● 5: South America (of 6 entries; vs. 2/4 in 2022)
● 3: North & Central America & the Caribbean (of 6 entries; vs. 1/4 in 2022)
● 2: Asia (of 9 entries; vs. 3/6 in 2022).
The 16 elimination-round teams in 2018 in Russia included 10 from Europe, four from South America and one each from Asia and CONCACAF.
¶
While World Cup ticket prices for the round-of-16 all slid down in the final days and hours before kickoff, the overall average remained high for the lowest “get-in” prices:
● $913 for the Group Stage
● $1,015 for the Round-of-32
● $1,453 for the Round-of-16
The most expensive round-of-16 ticket was England-Mexico at $3,820 and Swiss-Colombia was the least-priced, but still at $434.
The pricing is from TicketData.com reporting; The France-Morocco “get-in” price topped out at $3,194 on 23 June, but settled at $1,027 on Thursday, down 68%.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 681-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
