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Cherki still glum as France train ahead of QF vs Morocco

France were back on the training pitch on Sunday, less than 24 hours after their hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paraguay, as Didier Deschamps' squad began preparations for a World Cup quarter-final clash against Morocco. The session at Bentley University in Boston was reserved exclusively for players who saw little or no action in Saturday's bruising Round of 16 encounter in Philadelphia. A notable absentee was midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, who missed the Paraguay clash with a thigh injury and was not present at Sunday's session. A total of 11 outfield players who were unused substitutes in Philadelphia took part in the workout, including Désiré Doué and Rayan Cherki. Michael Olise, who started against Paraguay, spent the session on an exercise bike at the side of the pitch. The French squad arrived in Boston only in the early hours of Sunday morning, their flight from Philadelphia delayed by two hours due to thunderstorms that hit the area shortly after the match. Deschamps' side now have five days to prepare for Thursday's quarter-final against Morocco at Boston's Gillette Stadium. Kylian Mbappé's 70th-minute penalty, his seventh goal of the tournament, proved decisive in a bad-tempered contest played under an Extreme Heat Warning. The victory secured France's place in the quarter-finals for the fourth consecutive World Cup and set up a meeting with Morocco, who earlier defeated Canada 3-0.