France and Morocco meet again on the World Cup’s biggest stage on Thursday, and for Gernot Rohr, the quarter-final at Boston Stadium carries the weight of a family reunion as much as a football match. Soccer

The Franco-German coach, who turned 73 last month and managed Nigeria for five years, believes the rematch of the 2022 semi-final — won 2-0 by France in Qatar — will be shaped by a familiarity between the camps that goes beyond coaching.

“This match between France and Morocco is a repeat of the semi-final at the last World Cup in Qatar, and that makes this one a big match because the two teams know themselves very well,” Rohr told NationSport . “The players know the other players very, very well.”

That closeness, Rohr explained, stems from a generation of players who came through French youth football before switching allegiance to Morocco. Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, born in Senlis in northern France and formerly of France’s under-21s, is the clearest current example, having only completed his switch to the Atlas Lions in May.

“You have a player like Bouaddi, who was even born in France. They have double nationality and experience with French academies,” Rohr said. “So it’s a duel of brothers, like a big local derby. It is really very, very interesting.”

The former Bayern Munich defender, who played in the Bundesliga before moving into coaching, expects a tight, cagey contest given how well both dressing rooms know one another. “I think it will be a small result. It can go until extra time. It’s possible because the two teams know the other one very well,” he said.

Rohr also drew a contrast between the two managers, pointing to Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi’s background as a youth-team title winner against Didier Deschamps’ pedigree as a World Cup-winning manager.

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“The coach of Morocco is already a world champion at under-20 level, and he’s now against Didier Deschamps, who is experienced and already a world champion in 2018. So a very interesting game to come,” he said.

For Rohr, the shared language between the camps only deepens the sense of kinship on show. “Everybody’s speaking the same language, French. So it’s perhaps a derby, but also a match between Africa and Europe,” he said. “That’s how we will be able to judge how the best teams of Africa can do against the best teams of the world. So let’s wait and see.”

France go into the tie unbeaten in five matches and as the tournament’s most prolific attacking side, with Kylian Mbappe leading the scoring charts, while Morocco arrive unbeaten in five of their own having eliminated co-hosts Canada 3-0 in the round of 16. Kick-off in Boston is set for 21:00 WAT.