FOXBOROUGH, MA – France, considered the prohibitive favorite to win the 2026 World Cup, has moved within two victories of achieving that goal after defeating Morocco 2-0 in the tournament’s first quarterfinal on Thursday. The victory, secured at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, sets up a semifinal clash for Les Bleus against the winner of the Spain-Belgium match.
France was slowed by a Paraguay side whose methods bordered on dirty. Still Les Bleus found a way to win and should also do that here against a Morocco team that should put up an admirable effort.
Despite the two-goal margin, the match against Morocco, a rematch of the Qatar 2022 semifinal, proved to be a challenging contest. A significant moment came in the 26th minute when Morocco goalkeeper Yasine Bounou dove to his left to stop Mbappe’s soft effort on a penalty attempt, following an unusually long VAR check that upheld a foul on Mbappe by Noussair Mazraoui. Mbappe and coach Didier Deschamps were seen exchanging words with the refereeing crew regarding the extended VAR review. It was an interesting first half at Foxborough, highlighted by Yasine Bounou stopping Kylian Mbappe’s penalty kick.
France, however, intensified its pressure, registering 22 attempts at goal compared to Morocco’s four, only one of which was on target. Early in the game, Kylian Mbappe rocketed a shot just wide, and Dayot Upamecano’s header was saved by Bounou. Lucas Digne also had a long-range shot that nearly gave France the lead. The heat in Foxborough was blisteringly hot, with Moroccan players taking their time returning to the field for the second half.
The breakthrough for France finally arrived in the 60th minute when captain Kylian Mbappe, the Real Madrid star, found enough space to curl a shot around Issa Diop and inside the right post. This marked his eighth goal of the tournament and his 20th career World Cup goal. Just six minutes later, reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele doubled France’s lead with a low shot from the top of the penalty area. Bounou got a hand on it but was unable to push it wide. That’s Dembele’s fifth goal at this World Cup, and his fourth in this stadium, following a hat trick against Norway on June 26.
Morocco, playing without key scorer Ismaiel Saibari, whose three goals led the team in the tournament, struggled to contain France’s potent attack. With about 15 minutes remaining, Kylian Mbappe was subbed out after being on the ground, but the 27-year-old reassured the crowd by walking off on his own and waving. France’s semifinal match is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. For Morocco, the road to the World Cup final ends in a similar fashion to four years prior, unable to overcome a formidable French side.
It's all to play for in the final 45 minutes with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
The 2030 World Cup is being hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco – with Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina all each hosting one match on the other side of the Atlantic to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup.
