France Ease Past Morocco to Set Up World Cup Semi-Final Spot
France continued their composed march through the World Cup 2026 with a 2-0 quarter-final victory over Morocco near Boston on Thursday, setting up a semi-final appearance that few neutrals will find surprising at this point.
According to The Guardian, the match was largely one-sided, though it briefly flickered into life when Kylian Mbappé missed a first-half penalty. The France captain had won the spot-kick himself after nicking the ball past Noussair Mazraoui and drawing contact, but his effort was saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou — known as Bono — who appeared to put Mbappé off with some energetic movement on his line. Referee involvement reportedly drew things out further before the kick was taken.
Mbappé made amends in emphatic fashion on the hour, curling a finish into the net in the kind of clinical style that has become almost unremarkable in this tournament. It was his eighth goal of the competition, taking him closer to a potential Golden Boot and what The Guardian describes as a tilt at an all-time World Cup top-scorer record. Six minutes after that, Ousmane Dembélé’s effort slipped through Bounou’s fingers to make it 2-0 and settle the tie beyond any doubt.
Morocco, one of the more impressive sides at this tournament, ended the game with a single shot on target and an expected goals figure barely above zero. However the Dembélé goal came about, the Atlas Lions were not close to causing an upset.
France manager Didier Deschamps was asked about his captain’s leadership after the game.