Mbappé and Dembélé Fire France Past Morocco Into World Cup Semi-finals

Mbappé and Dembélé Fire France Past Morocco Into World Cup Semi-finals

Les Bleus Defeat Morocco 2-0 to Reach Third Consecutive FIFA World Cup Semi-final

France continued their impressive FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a 2-0 victory over Morocco in the quarter-finals, securing a place in the last four and extending their remarkable record in the tournament.

Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scored second-half goals as Didier Deschamps' side overcame a resilient Moroccan team in Boston to reach a third consecutive World Cup semi-final.

The opening half belonged largely to France, who created several clear opportunities but were repeatedly denied by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Mbappé had an early effort saved before Dayot Upamecano's close-range header was brilliantly stopped.

France were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 28th minute when Mbappé won a penalty after being fouled inside the box. However, Bounou guessed correctly and produced an excellent save to keep the scores level.

The Moroccan goalkeeper continued his outstanding performance throughout the first half, denying Désiré Doué and watching a long-range effort from Lucas Digne crash against the crossbar.

France finally found the breakthrough in the 60th minute. Mbappé received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and curled a magnificent strike beyond Bounou to score his eighth goal of the tournament and his 20th career World Cup goal.

Just six minutes later, France doubled their advantage. Ousmane Dembélé drove forward from outside the box and unleashed a powerful shot that slipped past Bounou despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball.

Morocco attempted to respond through Achraf Hakimi, Azzedine Ounahi and Brahim Diaz, but France remained defensively solid and comfortably protected their lead.

There was a brief scare for France when Mbappé appeared to suffer a foot injury and was substituted in the 76th minute. However, the French captain was later seen on the bench with an ice pack as his side completed the victory.

Match Result

France 2-0 Morocco

Goals

Kylian Mbappé (France) – 60'

Ousmane Dembélé (France) – 66'

Key Moment

Mbappé's stunning curling strike in the 60th minute finally broke Morocco's resistance after Yassine Bounou had produced a series of outstanding saves.

With the victory, France become the first team to reach the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals and will face either Spain or Belgium in the last four. Morocco's impressive tournament run comes to an end after another strong showing on the world stage.