- France defeated Morocco 2-0 to advance to the 2026 World Cup semi-finals
- Mbappe scored and assisted as Dembele added the second goal
- Les Bleus will face either Spain or Belgium for a place in the final
France secured a place in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating Morocco 2-0 in their quarter-final clash on Thursday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring in the 60th minute before Ousmane Dembélé added a second six minutes later to send Les Bleus into the last four, Eko Hot Blog reports.
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The victory ended Morocco’s impressive tournament run and kept France’s hopes of winning a third World Cup title alive.
Mbappé recovered from an earlier setback after his first-half penalty was saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. The French captain redeemed himself with a superb curling strike that broke the deadlock just after the hour mark.
The goal was his eighth of the tournament, drawing him level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
Before being substituted late in the game with an ice pack on his right ankle, Mbappé also created France’s second goal, setting up Dembélé, who calmly finished to seal the win.
France, who also eliminated Morocco at the 2022 World Cup, will now face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals in Dallas next Tuesday.
The two-time world champions are aiming to reach a third consecutive World Cup final in what will be Didier Deschamps’ final tournament as France coach.
Despite strong backing from their supporters, Morocco struggled to create clear scoring opportunities, with the absence of injured forward Ismael Saibari affecting their attacking threat.
Mbappé continued his remarkable World Cup form, taking his tally to 20 goals in 20 appearances at the tournament—just one behind Messi’s overall World Cup record of 21 goals.
France created several chances before the breakthrough, with Bounou producing a series of fine saves to keep Morocco in the contest during the opening half.
The Moroccan goalkeeper denied Mbappé from the penalty spot after the Real Madrid forward was brought down in the box by Noussair Mazraoui. Although Mbappé failed to convert from 12 yards, he later made the difference with a clinical finish.
Dembélé, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, added his fifth goal of the competition with a composed finish after being played through by Mbappé.
While Morocco’s campaign came to an end, the Atlas Lions once again demonstrated their growing strength on the global stage and will look to build on their progress ahead of co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
France, meanwhile, remain firmly on course for another appearance in the World Cup final as they continue their pursuit of global football glory.
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