France vs. Morocco will be the first quarterfinal match of the 2026 World Cup. The match will be played at Boston Stadium on Thursday, July 9.
France and Morocco reached this stage after winning their respective Round of 16 matches last week.
France defeated Paraguay 1-0 with a goal from Kylian Mbappé, while Morocco defeated Canada 3-0 with two goals from Azzedine Ounahi and a goal from Soufiane Rahimi.
The referee in charge of the France vs. Morocco match will be Argentine official Facundo Tello. Tello has officiated two games in the 2026 World Cup before the France vs. Morocco match: Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Africa vs. South Korea.
Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP via Getty Images
Tello has been a FIFA referee since 2019 and officiated two matches in the 2022 World Cup. Tello will be the referee for another Morocco quarterfinal match at a World Cup after refereeing the Morocco vs. Portugal match in the 2022 World Cup.
Tello is also known for giving out 10 red cards in the Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional Final between Boca Juniors and Racing Club. Tello gave out seven red cards to Boca Juniors and three to Racing.
The referee team for the France vs. Morocco match also sparked some backlash, as there will be five Argentine referees in charge. All the referees on the pitch are from Argentina, but on VAR, there is an Argentine referee with a Uruguayan referee and a Nicaraguan assistant VAR referee.
Full Referee Team for France vs. Morocco
- Main Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)
- Assistant Referee 1: Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)
- Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade (Argentina)
- 4th Official: Dario Herrera (Argentina)
- Reserve Assistant Referee: Cristian Navarro (Argentina)
