Mbappé Steers France Past Morocco into Third Straight World Cup Semi-Final
Match statistics
View knockout bracket →- Kylian Mbappé 60'
- Ousmane Dembélé 66'(Kylian Mbappé)
- Issa Diop 63'
HT 0–0|Poss 48–52%|Shots 22–5|SOT 8–1
MOTM: Kylian Mbappé
Thu, Jul 9, 2026 • 16:00 (Foxborough local)
France beat Morocco 2–0 at Boston Stadium to reach the World Cup semi-finals for a third straight edition. Yassine Bounou saved Kylian Mbappé's 28th-minute penalty after Noussair Mazraoui had brought down the France captain, but Mbappé curled a superb finish into the far corner on 60 minutes before slipping Ousmane Dembélé through to fire into the bottom corner six minutes later.
Les Bleus dominated after the break despite finishing with 48% possession to Morocco's 52%, out-shooting the Atlas Lions 22–5 with eight shots on target to one. Issa Diop was booked for a foul on Mbappé in the 63rd minute — the only card of the match — as Didier Deschamps' side avenged their 2022 semi-final meeting and extended their clean-sheet run in knockout play.
France advance to face the winner of Friday's Spain–Belgium quarter-final in Dallas on Tuesday — a potential reunion with either of the European sides they beat on the way to the 2018 title. Morocco bow out after another deep run as Africa's highest-ranked side, having reached the last eight for the second tournament in a row without ever beating Les Bleus at a World Cup.