In a few weeks' time, when Al Hilal are busy preparing for the 2026-27 Roshn Saudi League in the Austrian countryside, Yassine Bono and Theo Hernandez will be doing what all teammates do.
They'll be sharing stories and jokes, probably engaging in a bit of banter and even enjoying a few lighthearted recreational games to help pass the time between training sessions.
But late this Thursday in Boston, the atmosphere won't be so amiable. Put simply, there's too much at stake when Morocco and France meet in the opening quarter-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
As he was four years ago in Qatar , Bono has again been the saviour for the impressive North Africans, the Al Hilal No.1 coming up clutch in the penalty-shootout win against the Netherlands in the Round of 32.
It was there he denied Crysencio Summerville with a superb, one-handed stop . Then Morocco converted the next spot-kick, and the history-making 2022 semi-finalists marched on.
It's funny how history repeats.
While the titles of the rounds have changed owing to the fact the World Cup has expanded to 48 teams, in the first knockout round in Qatar , Bounou was the hero in the shootout as Morocco stunned Spain .
Al Hilal No.1 Yassine Bono saves Netherlands' 5th penalty to send Morocco into FIFA World Cup last 16
Then two rounds later, they faced France. While it is a quarter-final this time rather than a last-four clash, there is undoubtedly a sense of revenge on the mind of the Atlas Lions as they prepare to step onto the pitch at Boston Stadium.
Of course, it was in that match in Qatar that Morocco thought they had a penalty after Hernandez brought down Sofiane Boufal in the France box, only for the referee to wave away their appeals.
"Even now, I still tell Theo Hernandez - my teammate at Al Hilal -that there was a penalty on Sofiane Boufal, and he tells me there was nothing," Bono said recently in an interview with Farouk Life on YouTube.
"In the end, it's all about the small details in football."
One of the more major details, which Hernandez no doubt reminds Bono about all the time, was his opening goal of that semi-final, which France went on to triumph 2-0.
"It was a very good match," Hernandez, then of AC Milan , said afterwards. "Morocco really kept us on our toes. They showed throughout the tournament that they are a great team."
It's the fine margins that Bono speaks of that Morocco will be hoping fall their way this time around. However, such is the form of France at this World Cup that it will most probably require another herculean effort from Bono, and all his teammates, if they are to thwart Les Bleus this time around.
On the French side, one of the key questions confronting manager Didier Deschamps heading into the encounter is what he does on the left side of his defence. So far this tournament he has rotated between Hernandez and Lucas Digne .
Bono knows all too well the threat that Hernandez poses; he sees it every day back in Riyadh. For Hernandez, who shone in his debut season in the RSL , this global finals is also about revenge - albeit not over Morocco.
In 2022, Hernandez was part of that excellent France squad that fell agonisingly short in one of the all-time great finals, when the reigning champions were beaten on penalties by Argentina at Lusail Stadium.
Al Hilal full-back Theo Hernandez in action for France v Morocco at 2022 FIFA World Cup
There was, in fact, double pain for Hernandez because his brother, Lucas, who lifted the World Cup four years previously, missed the final having torn his ACL earlier in the tournament.
Hernandez later admitted his morale was low for quite a while after that 2022 heartbreak, so this tournament in North America is about righting those wrongs. Once again, Lucas will be by his side.
Understandably, playing in a winning World Cup with his older sibling would represent the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Yet, first, Theo and France must find their way past a resilient Moroccan outfit and a goalkeeper he knows all too well.
Yassine Bono and Theo Hernandez are each vital cogs in Al Hilal's formidable defence
For RSL fans, it's almost unfair that one team must lose. Undeniably, the atmosphere and intensity of the occasion in Boston will be off the charts. It's there, where two RSL stars and Al Hilal colleagues will do battle for place in a World Cup semi-final.
When Bono and Hernandez meet again once the dust has settled on the global finals, those tranquil surrounds of the Austrian countryside will certainly feel a world removed.
