Didier Deschamps asks France squad to be more efficient against Morocco

French footballer Kylian Mbappe (left), celebrates with France national team coach Didier Deschamps (second left), after scoring a goal against Sweden in the 2026 World Cup 32-team match at the New York New Jersey Stadium, United States, Tuesday (30/06/2026) local time. (Antara - Xinhua - Lui Siu Wai - kye)

JAKARTA - France national team coach Didier Deschamps asked his players to be more efficient in utilizing opportunities when facing Morocco in the 2026 World Cup quarterfinal.

"Both teams have strength in all lines. We are quite effective, but we should be able to do better. Sometimes you create six chances and only score two goals, while on other occasions you only have two chances and both become goals. The most important thing is efficiency," Deschamps said as reported by The Strait Times on Thursday.

Even though Les Bleus are the most productive team in this tournament with 14 goals, Deschamps believes the effectiveness of the final solution still needs to be improved.

France advanced to the quarterfinals after eliminating Paraguay 1-0 thanks to a Kylian Mbappe penalty in the round of 16.

Mbappe now has seven goals, only behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi who leads the scoring charts with eight goals.

In addition to Mbappe, the French front line is strengthened by Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, and Bradley Barcola, who are so far one of the most dangerous attack trios in this tournament so far.

However, Deschamps insists that Morocco is a far different opponent than Paraguay. According to him, the 2022 World Cup semi-finalist has now evolved into one of the strong candidates for the title.

"We faced them four years ago in the semifinals. They also appeared in the African Cup of Nations final and have many quality players. They didn't come here just to play, but to win. We have to be ready to give our best performance against this great team," he said as quoted by Antara.