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Morocco star Ismael Saibari will miss his team's World Cup quarter-final showdown with France, coach Mohamed Ouahbi confirmed on Wednesday."Everyone is 100 percent fit except Saibari. This game comes too soon for him but I hope he is not out for the rest of the competition," Ouahbi told reporters ahead of Thursday's last-eight showdown at the Gillette Stadium near Boston. Saibari, who has just joined Bayern Munich from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven on a five-year deal for a reported fee of 50 million euros ($57 million), has been one of the standout players at the World Cup. He scored in each of his team's three group games and converted the winning penalty in the shoot-out as Morocco beat the Netherlands in the last 32. However, the attacking midfielder came off early on with a hamstring problem in the 3-0 win against Canada in the last 16 last Saturday, and has not recovered. Soufiane Rahimi, who is an out-and-out striker, came on for Saibari in that game and scored Morocco's third goal. The Atlas Lions are seeking to avenge their 2-0 defeat against France in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup. That was the first time any African or Arab team had made it to the last four of the tournament, and the incentive for them this time is to match that run.Ouahbi dismissed suggestions that his team can say they have already had a successful tournament by getting to the quarter-finals. "We absolutely want to win the game tomorrow, so we will not listen to people who say it doesn't matter if we go out now," said the coach, who took over from predecessor Walid Regragui in March. "Tomorrow we will try get to the semi-finals. I don't like this sentiment that we have already done well and anything else is a bonus," added Ouabi, who said he watched the 2022 meeting of the sides as a fan, on television. Meanwhile, Morocco's Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz insisted his side can compete with the much-fancied French as he prepares to come up against Kylian Mbappe, his colleague at club level. "Tomorrow we are playing one of the favourites but we have shown we can compete and that is why we are here. I have full faith and full confidence in the team."

Morocco trounced 10-man Niger 5-0 in Rabat on Friday to win Group E and become the first African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Ismael Saibari scored twice in the first half after Abdul-Latif Goumey was sent off and second-half goals from Ayoub el Kaabi, Hamza Igamane and Azzedine Ounahi completed the rout.A sixth straight victory lifted Morocco to an unassailable lead with 18 points – eight more than Tanzania and sealed a seventh appearance at the global showpiece with two matches to spare. Morocco were shock semi-finalists at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, topping a group including Croatia and Belgium and eliminating Spain and Portugal in the knockout phase. The stunning run came to an end in the semi-finals as they lost 2-0 to France.Only Ounahi of the scorers against Niger was in the 2022 World Cup squad with coach Walid Regragui introducing new faces since, including Saibari from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.In Group A, Egypt beat Ethiopia 2-0 in Cairo with Premier League stars Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush converting late first-half penalties. Egypt can join Morocco at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico if they win away to second-placed Burkina Faso on Tuesday.Newcastle United signing Yoane Wissa was among the goals as the Democratic Republic of Congo hammered South Sudan 4-1 in Juba to stay top of Group B. Wissa moved from Brentford in a £50mn ($67mn) deal after Sweden striker Alexander Isak left Newcastle for Liverpool in a British record move. The Congolese are hoping to return to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, when the central African country was called Zaire.Cedric Bakambu scored twice to help the visitors build a three-goal half-time advantage and Wissa added a fourth before Keer Majak claimed a consolation goal. Senegal trail DR Congo by one point ahead of a top-of-the-table showdown in Kinshasa on Tuesday after beating Sudan 2-0 in Diamniadio through goals from Kalidou Koulibaly and Pape Matar Sarr.South Africa maintained a five-point lead in Group C thanks to a comfortable 3-0 'away' victory over neighbours Lesotho in Bloemfontein. The home fixture for Lesotho was moved to the central South African city, 145 kilometres by road from the border, because the mountain kingdom does not have a FIFA-approved stadium.Mohau Nkota, who quit famed Soweto club Orlando Pirates last month to join Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ettifaq, scored his first international goal for Bafana Bafana (the Boys) on 15 minutes. Lyle Foster from Premier League returnees Burnley and Oswin Appollis netted within four minutes midway through the second half.Victory did come at a cost for South Africa, though, with defenders Nyiko Mobbie and Thabo Moloisane retiring injured ahead of a key clash with Nigeria at the same venue on Tuesday. South Africa have 16 points, five more than Benin, who edged Zimbabwe 1-0 in Abidjan through a Steve Mounie goal. Nigeria, nine points behind the leaders, host Rwanda.Clinical first-half finishing earned Gambia a surprise 3-1 win over Kenya in Nairobi with Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh scoring the second. However, the result had no impact on the top of Group F, with reigning African champions the Ivory Coast away to Gabon on Tuesday in a match likely to decide who finishes first.Serhou Guirassy, a prolific scorer for Borussia Dortmund with 38 goals in all competitions last season, bagged his first for Guinea in World Cup qualifying to set up a 3-0 win over Somalia. But a disappointing campaign by Guinea they lie fourth eight points behind Group G leaders Algeria means Guirassy will almost certainly miss the World Cup.