Hakimi settles it before France-Morocco: "Mbappé is not my mate on the pitch"

Achraf Hakimi warned Kylian Mbappé ahead of the 2026 World Cup quarter-final between France and Morocco, Thursday at Gillette Stadium in Boston: their friendship ends at the touchline. On social media, the Morocco captain replied to an influencer who mentioned the closeness between the two men with an unambiguous statement — “He’s not my mate on the pitch” — triggering a strong reaction among Morocco supporters.

The context makes the jab even more delicious. The two players shared the PSG dressing room and maintain a well-documented friendship off the pitch. But Hakimi, who arrives in the quarter-final as one of the standout performers for the North African side, clearly has no intention of letting personal ties interfere with the sporting stakes.

Those stakes are considerable. Morocco faces France three and a half years after losing the 2022 World Cup semi-final in Qatar 2-0, and dreams of revenge to reach the final four. Facing them, Mbappé arrives in devastating form: seven goals since the tournament kicked off make him one of the top contenders for the Golden Boot.

Hakimi’s statement fits the tradition of pre-match verbal sparring, but it also says something deeper about the mindset of a Moroccan generation that has not come to terms with the Qatar elimination. Led by their captain, the Atlas Lions approach this quarter-final with the conviction that the 2022 result can be put right. Mbappé’s response, meanwhile, will come on the pitch Thursday in Boston.