Boston, United States – Less than 24 hours before the first quarterfinal of the World Cup between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium, the official FIFA fan zone in the host city was dismantled and shut down.

On Wednesday, workers took apart the scaffolding, put away the match-screening equipment, and wrapped up what they thought were the last remnants of the World Cup party in the US city known as “Titletown” – a nod to its historic success in US sports.

And then came the Moroccans.

With their red shirts, red-and-green flags, and following their red-hot team, Morocco’s supporters could be spotted in small groups all over downtown Boston from early afternoon.

Travelling from their home country, within the US and the rest of the world, the fans have descended upon the city with a belief that Morocco will win the World Cup.

Gone is the shock of the surprising Qatar World Cup 2022 run, which saw the Atlas Lions knock out one big name after another before they were stopped in the semifinals by the same nemesis they will face on Thursday.

The players and coaches might say it is not a grudge match for 2022, but the fans have no qualms about claiming otherwise.

“We truly believe in this team, and we back them to avenge the pain of 2022,” Ismael Chaouie, who has travelled from Casablanca to support his team, told Global News Insight.

‘Eager to win’

Morocco began their 2026 tournament journey with an impressive 1-1 draw against Brazil inside a packed New York New Jersey Stadium nearly a month ago.

Since then, they have beaten Scotland and Haiti in the group stage, edged out the Netherlands in a penalty shootout in the round of 32, and thumped Canada in the last 16.

Only to find themselves face-to-face with arguably the most in-form and complete team of the tournament.

However, for Chaouie, his friends and all the Morocco supporters Global News Insight spoke to, the prospect of facing France superstar Kylian Mbappe and co might be daunting, but it has not deterred them from claiming their team could still win.

Abdur Rahim, a US-based Morocco fan, thinks the current team is better organised and their coach is tactically more astute than their 2022 counterparts.

“They are more eager and hungrier to win, and to make up for a chance that slipped away from us four years ago,” he explained as hundreds of other fans sang and danced around him in Boston Common, the city’s famous centrally located park.

Rahim, who has been following the Lions’ progress closely for years, said head coach Mohamed Ouahabi must not give Mbappe or France a chance to settle down in the game.

The African giants were dealt a big blow when Ouahabi confirmed that striker Ismael Saibari will miss the quarterfinal due to an ongoing hamstring injury sustained in the previous match.

However, Rahim believes it could be a cheeky move on the part of the coach to keep the French guessing.

“Maybe our coach has a surprise for France? But even if Saibari doesn’t play, there are 25 other players in that squad who will be ready to give it their all for Morocco.”

‘FIFA, keep it fair’

As the sun set on a balmy evening in Boston, the locals out on their daily runs or picnicking by the Charles River in the city’s central areas headed back home for the weeknight.

A few hundred metres away, though, a crowd had gathered in Boston Common, and a pre-match party was only getting started.

The Parkman Bandstand, a rotunda that is commonly used as a central hub for public concerts or to address rallies in the park, was taken over by Morocco fans, who sang their team’s anthems and waved large flags while leaning from the pillars.

Couples, groups of friends and families, with wide-eyed children in tow, gathered around the young men and women.

Walking through the crowd with a large placard in his hand, a tall fan attracted attention amid the singing and dancing.

“FIFA, keep it fair. Morocco will do the rest,” read his sign.

Saeed Kuhail, as he later introduced himself, is a self-proclaimed die-hard Morocco supporter who lives in the US but could not afford to buy tickets for the quarterfinal.

He said he would support his team from a distance but was worried that refereeing decisions could sway the result of the match.

“I made this sign after yesterday’s result in the Argentina-Egypt game,” he said, referring to the VAR controversy that tainted Argentina’s 3-2 win in the last-16 match in Atlanta on Tuesday.

But it wasn’t the only reason behind Kuhail’s very direct message for the sport’s governing body.

“I also had in mind the 2022 [France vs Morocco World Cup] game where we weren’t given a clear penalty and the French went on to win the match in Doha,” he explained.

For the Boston rematch, his prediction was clear: “If it’s a fair game, we will win. We need a fair and neutral referee and we’ll do the rest.”

While Morocco’s red could be seen in most parts of Boston on the eve of the quarterfinal, the French fans were peculiar in their absence.

Perhaps they were keeping away from the downtown area, where even the streets were taken over by Morocco supporters.

Those who could not join the park revellers joined the party in cars as they honked their way through busy intersections with national songs blaring from the stereos and flags decorating their vehicles.

About 10pm (02:00 GMT on Thursday), a group of cars stopped in front of a row of halal restaurants thronged by Morocco-shirt-wearing diners, and young men turned the street corner into a mini stadium.

They sang different variations of “Dima Maghreb”, a song popularised by football fans for their team, as well as their take on the Scottish fans’ chant “No Scotland, no party”.

Impromptu fireworks, dance-offs in the street and a seemingly never-ending Moroccan party made passers-by stop to film the fans or join them.

It took an hour of noisy celebrations and at least five Boston Police cars to end the celebrations for the night.

Should the Atlas Lions beat the tournament favourites on Thursday, the singing, dancing and roaring will be much louder and last way longer.