World Cup 2026: Five Moroccan players carry yellow cards into the France quarter-final 

With just three days left until Morocco’s highly anticipated 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final clash against France at Boston Stadium on Thursday, five Atlas Lions players will enter the match on a yellow card.

The list includes defender Issa Diop, who picked up a yellow card during Morocco’s Round of 32 victory over the Netherlands, alongside Achraf Hakimi, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El Khannouss, and Redouane Halhal, all booked during Morocco’s Round of 16 clash against Canada.

Premier League referee Michael Oliver showed eight yellow cards during the Morocco-Canada match, making it the most-carded game of the 2026 World Cup so far and only the second knockout match since 2006 to feature six first-half bookings.

Speaking after the match, Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi criticized referee Michael Oliver for showing yellow cards too quickly, especially in the first half.

He argued that some incidents, including Achraf Hakimi’s booking, could have been managed through discussion rather than an immediate caution.

According to FIFA’s regulations for the 2026 World Cup, single yellow cards are wiped after the group stage and again after the quarter-finals.

That means the yellow card Issa Diop picked up against Scotland in the group stage no longer counts, and only yellow cards received in the knockout rounds are taken into account.

The second period applies from the Round of 32 to the quarter-finals.

The five Moroccan players booked against the Netherlands and Canada will take those yellow cards into the quarter-final against France, but the bookings will be wiped if the Atlas Lions advance to the semi-finals.

Yet, if any of the five players are booked again against France, they will miss Morocco’s next match.

According to Article 10.4 of FIFA’s World Cup regulations, a “player or team official who receives two cautions in two different matches is automatically suspended for their team’s subsequent match.”