Former France defender and Marseille captain Adil Rami has said Morocco reaching the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals was no fluke.

“Morocco did not reach the quarterfinals by chance or without deserving it,” Rami said in a video shared online.

The 2018 World Cup winner explained that if not for France, Morocco would’ve reached farther in the tournament.

“The problem is that when you reach the quarterfinals, you come up against one of the main favorites to win the tournament, which was France,” he said.

Rami said the difference between the two teams became clearer because Morocco needed their senior figures and regular starters for such a difficult match.

“In that game, we felt that Morocco badly needed its key players and leaders,” he said. “When I speak about key players, I mean all those who were injured just before the World Cup.”