France booked their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinals after defeating Morocco 2-0 in Boston on Friday. After a tightly contested first half ended goalless, the two-time world champions stepped up after the break with goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele to secure a comfortable victory.
The win also marked France’s third consecutive World Cup semifinal appearance, while Morocco were unable to replicate their historic run from Qatar 2022, where they were also eliminated by France in the last four.
Mbappe Shines Despite Injury Concern
Kylian Mbappe once again proved decisive, opening the scoring in the 60th minute with a curling strike from the edge of the penalty area after missing a first-half penalty that was saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. The goal took Mbappe’s tally to eight goals in the tournament and 20 World Cup career goals, drawing level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
However, France suffered an injury scare when Mbappe was substituted in the 77th minute after appearing to pick up a knock. The French camp will now hope their star forward has not sustained a serious injury ahead of the semifinals.
Match Highlights:
- Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of the tournament.
- Ousmane Dembele doubled France’s lead with a long-range strike.
- Yassine Bounou saved Mbappe’s first-half penalty.
- Mbappe was substituted in the 77th minute due to an apparent injury.
France Await Semifinal Opponents
Dembele sealed the victory just six minutes after Mbappe’s opener, finishing a swift counterattack with a powerful right-footed effort that slipped past Bounou despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball.
Morocco, playing without injured forward Ismael Saibari, struggled to create clear chances throughout the match. Their best opportunity came in the 83rd minute, when Azzedine Ounahi forced France goalkeeper Mike Maignan into his first significant save of the game.
France will now face the winner of the Spain vs Belgium quarterfinal in the semifinals as they continue their pursuit of a third FIFA World Cup title.