BOSTON (Realist English). France became the first team to book a spot in the 2026 World Cup semi-finals, defeating Morocco 2-0 in the quarter-final match at Gillette Stadium in Boston.
A second-half brace from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé secured the win. The victory mirrored the semi-final of the 2022 World Cup, where France also beat the Atlas Lions by the same scoreline.
Despite a Missed Penalty, Mbappé Emerged as the Hero
From the opening minutes, the world champions seized control. Just four minutes in, Mbappé registered the first shot on target, but it went wide.
In the 25th minute, Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui brought down Mbappé in the box, prompting the referee to award a penalty. However, after a lengthy VAR review, Mbappé’s spot-kick to the right corner was saved by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. It was Mbappé’s first penalty miss for France since Euro 2020.
Despite the miss, France dominated the first half, registering 13 shots to Morocco’s one. Morocco’s best chance came just before the whistle, when Achraf Hakimi sent a free-kick past the post. At half-time, France had accumulated 1.87 xG — the highest expected goals total in the tournament without scoring a goal.
Second Half: Mbappé and Dembélé Decide It in Six Minutes
The second half began with even more aggressive play from the French. In the 60th minute, Mbappé received the ball at the edge of the box and fired a precise shot into the far corner. It was his 8th goal of the tournament, his 12th in World Cup knockout matches, and his 20th career World Cup goal. Only Lionel Messi (21 goals) has scored more.
Just six minutes later, Mbappé back-heeled the ball into Dembélé’s path, and the Ballon d’Or winner fired a powerful shot into the net. It was Dembélé’s 5th goal of the tournament.
Statistics and Mbappé’s Injury
France completely outplayed their opponents, registering 21 shots to Morocco’s 4, with 8 on target to 1. Morocco’s first shot on target came only in the 84th minute.
In the 77th minute, Mbappé left the pitch with an ankle injury and watched the rest of the game with ice on his foot. After the match, he confirmed the injury was not serious.
Post-Match Reaction
France manager Didier Deschamps said: “This is our third semi-final in a row — that’s good. It seems logical and natural, but the work still needs to be done. It wasn’t easy, especially the penalty… when it’s Kylian, he never has doubts. But we are exactly where we wanted to be.”
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi admitted: “We are very disappointed; we wanted to go further. We have to acknowledge that France is a great team with excellent players. They had more goalscoring chances. We lacked ideas and freshness.” He also promised: “Today France was stronger, but we are capable of competing and progressing and, perhaps, beating them in four years.”
France became the first semi-finalist of World Cup 2026 and remains on track to become the third team in history to reach three consecutive finals. On July 14 in Dallas, Les Bleus will face the winner of the Spain-Belgium match.