- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,194,333
- Reaction score
- 59
Morocco World Cup star Ismael Saibari will miss Thursday's quarter-final against France, coach Mohamed Ouahbi has said.
"Everyone is available apart from Saibari," Ouahbi said ahead of the match in Foxborough.
The game comes too soon for Saibari, although Ouahbi said he hoped the forward would not be ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
The new Bayern Munich player had to be substituted after 22 minutes in Morocco's 3-0 World Cup last-16 win over Canada on Saturday.
Media reports earlier this week said he had only suffered a minor muscle strain, raising hopes of a quick comeback.
Saibari, who joined Bayern from PSV Eindhoven during the World Cup, has produced a string of strong performances at the tournament and scored three goals.
Even without Saibari, Morocco are aiming to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the second tournament in a row.
"I don't like it when people say that our World Cup is already a success," Ouahbi said, adding that conclusions should only be drawn at the end of the tournament.
He said Morocco would do everything they could to beat France.
Four years ago in Qatar, Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, where they lost to France.
France went on to lose the final to Argentina.
Continue reading...
"Everyone is available apart from Saibari," Ouahbi said ahead of the match in Foxborough.
The game comes too soon for Saibari, although Ouahbi said he hoped the forward would not be ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
The new Bayern Munich player had to be substituted after 22 minutes in Morocco's 3-0 World Cup last-16 win over Canada on Saturday.
Media reports earlier this week said he had only suffered a minor muscle strain, raising hopes of a quick comeback.
Saibari, who joined Bayern from PSV Eindhoven during the World Cup, has produced a string of strong performances at the tournament and scored three goals.
Even without Saibari, Morocco are aiming to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the second tournament in a row.
"I don't like it when people say that our World Cup is already a success," Ouahbi said, adding that conclusions should only be drawn at the end of the tournament.
He said Morocco would do everything they could to beat France.
Four years ago in Qatar, Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, where they lost to France.
France went on to lose the final to Argentina.
Continue reading...
