France coach Didier Deschamps spent much of his World Cup news conference on Wednesday responding to questions about issues off the pitch, ranging from racist remarks directed at French star Kylian Mbappé to refereeing decisions and his own future.
Meanwhile, French authorities are preparing for possible unrest surrounding Thursday's World Cup quarterfinal between France and Morocco. Thousands of police officers are expected to be deployed across the country after the two sides' 2022 World Cup semifinal sparked more than 250 arrests, many of them in Paris.
Even without the off-field concerns, the France-Morocco clash is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing quarterfinals.
France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A victory on Thursday would keep France on course to become only the third nation, after Brazil and Germany, to reach the final of three consecutive World Cups. Morocco made history in 2022 as the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal.
"We met them four years ago in the semifinal. They also played in the African final. It is a really great, excellent team with top-notch individuals. They're not here to play. They're there to win," Deschamps said. "They like to attack to score goals. We have to be ready."
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said his team has bigger ambitions than simply reaching the last eight.
"I don't like this feeling where we can say what we've done up until now is great and the rest is a bonus," Ouahbi said. "No, the only bonus is to win the World Cup."
Midfielder Brahim Diaz said Morocco's 3-0 victory over Canada in the round of 16 reflected the team's mentality.
"This is our mentality," Diaz said. "We want to keep going. Everybody wants to play in this type of game."
Olise one booking away from suspension
France midfielder Michael Olise will have to be careful after FIFA rejected France's appeal against the yellow card he received during the 1-0 round-of-16 win over Paraguay.
"We received FIFA's decision this morning that the yellow card was maintained," Deschamps said.
If Olise receives another yellow card against Morocco, he will miss the next match.
Olise was booked in the 97th minute after an altercation with Paraguay's Matías Galarza. Video replays showed Olise grabbing Galarza's jersey before the Paraguayan fell to the ground.
Morocco, meanwhile, will be without midfielder Ismael Saibari, who suffered a thigh injury during the win over Canada, Ouahbi confirmed.
France's appeal came after US President Donald Trump last week personally appealed to FIFA President Gianni Infantino over the suspension of US forward Folarin Balogun following a red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina. FIFA later overturned the suspension, allowing Balogun to play against Belgium.
The decision, however, did not prevent the United States from suffering a 4-1 defeat to Belgium and exiting the tournament.
Deschamps focused despite off-field distractions
On Monday, Mbappé condemned racist comments made by a Paraguayan senator after France's victory over Paraguay. Deschamps said his captain remains fully focused.
"Kylian is OK. Whatever happens, I don't want to look back and think about it again. He's a very strong guy mentally, physically. He's just focused on tomorrow's game," he said.
Questions were also raised over refereeing after three French players were booked during the heated match against Paraguay, while Paraguay received only one yellow card after the game.
"It is out of our control," Deschamps said. "I trust the refereeing. Some refereeing decisions may lead to discussions. It really depends on everyone's opinion. Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee."
The 57-year-old Deschamps, who has announced he will step down after the tournament, also brushed aside questions about his future. The captain of France's 1998 World Cup-winning team has coached the national side for the past 14 years and guided them to the 2018 World Cup title.
"The last game could have been the last one," he said. "In my head, with the technical staff, we want to win tomorrow. That's the objective. In a football game there are many possibilities when it comes to tomorrow's result. I'm focused on the Moroccan team so we can win that game."