Will Warren Zaire-Emery play for France tomorrow? PSG midfielder eyes World Cup debut

France are set to face Morocco in the quarter-final of the 2026 World Cup, this clash will be a remake of the 2022 World Cup semi-final with both sides looking to make history once again. Didier Deschamps' team have secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paraguay as Kylian Mbappé scored his seventh goal of the tournament and his 19th all-time.

As for Morocco, they defeated dispatched hosts nation Canada and will hope to reach the semi-final of the competition for the second consecutive time.

Is Warren Zaire-Emery expected to play for France against Morocco?

Ahead of this heavyweight clash between two of the best teams so far in the competition, many rumours saw Warren Zaire-Emery making his full debut in the competition. The Parisian midfielder had a very good season and played a massive part as Luis Enrique's team went back-to-back in the Champions League.

Nonetheless, he remains one of the only outfield players in this France squad to did not feature for a single minute at this point of the tournament alongside N'Golo Kanté and PSG teammates Lucas Hernandez. However, this situation who has left the 20-year-old reportedly frustrated could change as Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni is recovering from an injury while Manu Koné is one yellow card away from a suspension for a possible semi-final.

Therefore, Zaire-Emery becomes a reliable option to start this important quarter-final, though, Deschamps could also give his confidence to N'Golo Kanté who is an experienced player who already proved with France at the highest level.

France's central midfielder's depth chart at the World Cup

Warren Zaire-Emery is the most inexperienced player of this list and has not been very impactful with the national team due to his limited playing time. Didier Deschamps has not shown a tremendous amount of trust in him up to this point and unfortunately it doesn't look like the situation is set to change. The former Olympique de Marseille coach is more likely to give his first start in this edition to N'Golo Kanté if he were to bench Manu Koné for this clash while Aurélien Tchouaméni is not back at full fitness.

While it seems like the least threatening sector of this France squad, they have a lot of qualities nonetheless and it will be difficult for Warren Zaire-Emery to break through.

France team news and predicted lineup

France is expected align an unchanged starting lineup against Achraf Hakimi and Morocco. Mike Maignan will start between the posts while William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano partner in centre back, Lucas Digne and Jules Koundé will be in full-back positions. Despite the threat of suspension for Manu Koné, he will partner Rabiot in midfield. Aurélien Tchouaméni should start on the bench while Bradley Barcola who dazzled for France in this competition should start on the left wing while Désiré Doué is expected to come off the bench. The rest of the frontline will be composed of Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé.

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