By Julien Pretot
NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - France's World Cup campaign has already tested their firepower, patience and nerves, but Thursday's quarter-final against Morocco will offer Didier Deschamps' side something different: their first full football examination of the tournament.
The meeting is a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, when France ended Morocco's historic run in Qatar, but this time the North Africans arrive not as surprise outsiders but as a confident, gifted side who have
been open about their ambition to win the tournament.
France reached the last eight after a 1-0 win over Paraguay, a game that demanded character and patience more than fluency. Paraguay sat deep, slowed the rhythm and forced France to find a way through a packed defensive structure.
Deschamps' team did enough, with Kylian Mbappe scoring his seventh goal at this World Cup, but the performance also underlined that the knockout stage is beginning to ask harder questions of a side whose attacking talent has carried them through much of the tournament.
Against Morocco, the challenge will be different. Mohamed Ouahbi's side have shown they can suffer, control spells of possession and punish opponents with speed and precision.
Their 3-0 win over Canada in the last 16 confirmed the impression of a team growing into the tournament after coming through the group stage unbeaten.
Morocco had already shown their level in a demanding group, collecting seven points from matches against Brazil, Scotland and Haiti, and their performances have backed up their stated belief that they are not merely here to repeat the emotional charge of 2022.
France, by contrast, have yet to face a side with Morocco's blend of technical quality, athletic intensity and self-belief. Sweden were brushed aside in the last 32, while Paraguay provided resistance without posing the same footballing threat Morocco are likely to bring.
The quarter-final should offer the clearest indication yet of whether France's attacking quartet can continue to bend the tournament to their will against opponents capable of hurting them in transition and testing their defensive balance.
They will probably be without midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who has been suffering from a muscle injury, while Morocco are expected to be without key striker Ismael Saibari.
Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola have given France one of the most dangerous forward lines at the World Cup, but Morocco's organisation and confidence should provide a more complete measure of the team behind the big names.
(Reporting by Julien PretotEditing by Christian Radnedge)
