How France, Kylian Mbappe, beat Morocco to advance to World Cup semifinals
Mbappe and the entire France men’s national team put on quite a show in 2-0 victory over Morocco.
FOXBOROUGH, MA – France entered the 2026 World Cup as the prohibitive favorite to win it all.
Les Bleus are now two wins away from making that a reality.
France defeated Morocco 2-0 – a score that made the match appear closer than it was – in the first quarterfinal of the tournament Thursday and will face the winner of Spain-Belgium in the semifinals.
Morocco tried its best to hang with France in a rematch of the Qatar 2022 semifinal and managed to keep the French off the scoreboard in the first half. Keeper Yassine Bounou stonewalled Kylian Mbappe on a penalty attempt in the 26th minute, and the defense held strong until it couldn’t contain Mbappe any longer.
That came in the 60th minute when the Real Madrid man found enough space to curl a shot around Issa Diop and inside the right post for his eighth goal of the tournament. Ousmane Dembele followed with his fifth goal of the World Cup – and fourth in this stadium following his hat trick here against Norway on June 26 – six minutes later and France cruised the rest of the way.
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France ended with 22 attempts at goal compared to Morocco’s four, which included just one on target for “The Atlas Lions.”
Morocco was without key scorer Ismaiel Saibari and the match revealed how much his side missed his presence and production (a team-leading three goals this tournament).
France’s semifinal is set for Tuesday, July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Kylian Mbappe was subbed out with about 15 minutes remaining after being on the ground, but the 27-year-old walked off on his own and waved to the crowd to indicate that he was alright.
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 the Moroccan goalkeeper was unable to push it wide.
That’s Dembele’s fifth goal at this World Cup.
France’s captain finally found a way through, curling a beautiful shot into the back of the net in the 60th minute for his 20th career World Cup goal.
It’s blisteringly hot at Foxborough and the Moroccans took their timing coming back out to the field for the start of the second half while France players waited around.
Interesting first half at Foxborough, highlighted by Yasine Bounou stopping Kylian Mbappe’s penalty kick.
It’s all to play for in the final 45 minutes with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
France’s left back Lucas Digne took a long-range shot that very nearly gave France a 1-0 lead.
France hasn’t been able to get a chance in recent minutes with the stadium still seemingly stunned by the Mbappe miss 15 minutes ago.
With the game heading into the hydration break, Kylian Mbappe and coach Didier Deschamps are exchanging words with the refereeing crew after the extremely long VAR check to uphold the foul that led to the penalty.
Morocco goalkeeper Yasine Bounou dives to his left to stop Mbappe’s soft effort after an unusually long VAR check.
Noussair Mazraoui dove in and upended Kylian Mbappe. Penalty awarded.
Ousmane Dembele tried a looping header but it went a bit wide and over the bar as France continues to push for the first goal.
Les Bleus have already managed more pressure on the Morocco goal than they did in most of the slog against Paraguay, and are looking far more positive in possession trying to find a way through.
Morocco’s goalkeeper comes through with a huge stop on Dayot Upamecano’s header to keep the game scoreless five minutes in. The Morocco defense is going through it here early.
Kylian Mbappe rocketed a shot just wide in the opening minutes after being given a few yards of space.
This World Cup quarterfinal has kicked off in Massachusetts, with 90 minutes separating France and Morocco from the semifinals.
The matchup kicks off at 4 p.m. ET.
The quarterfinals match is being held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Seth Vertelney: France 2-0 Morocco
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.
Jon Arnold: France 2-1 Morocco
The road for Morocco ends the same way it did four years ago, unable to contain a blistering France attack that only has gotten stronger since their 2022 meeting.
Jesse Yomtov: France 2-0 Morocco
This should be a substantially more wide open match for France than the brutal slog against Paraguay and Les Bleus’ attack is chomping at the bit.
- GK: Mike Maignan
- DF: Lucas Digne
- DF: Dayot Upamecano
- DF: William Saliba
- DF: Jules Kounde
- MF: Manu Kone
- MF: Adrien Rabiot
- FW: Ousmane Dembele
- FW: Kylian Mbappe
- FW: Michael Olise
- FW: Desire Doue
- GK: Yasine Bounou
- DF: Achraf Hakimi
- DF: Noussair Mazraoui
- DF: Issa Diop
- DF: Anass Salah Eddine
- MF: Ayyoub Bouaddi
- MF: Chemsdine Talbi
- MF: Azzedine Ounahi
- MF: Bilal El Khannouss
- MF: Neil El Aynaoui
- FW: Brahim Diaz
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.
Entering quarterfinals, bold indicates player’s team still alive
- 8 – Lionel Messi, Argentina
- 7 – Kylian Mbappe, France
- 7 – Erling Haaland, Norway
- 5 – Harry Kane, England
- 4 – Jude Bellingham, England
- 4 – Ousmane Dembele, France
- 4 – Julián Quiñones, Mexico
- 4 – Ismaila Sarr, Senegal
- 4 – Mikel Oyarzabal, Spain
Argentine Facundo Tello will take charge of the match between France and Morocco, with support from assistants Juan Pablo Belatti and Gabriel Chade.
In the build-up to the game, some eyebrows were raised when FIFA confirmed that the officiating crew would all be Argentine. Typically the referee and his two assistants are from the same country but for the first time at this World Cup, all five officials are from the same country, including the fourth official and the reserve assistant referee.
With France and Argentina both among the favorites to meet in the final, France reserve goalkeeper Robin Risser said ahead of the game that fans shouldn’t worry about bias from the Argentine officials.
“We must not become paranoid,” Risser said. “If these referees are involved, it’s because they are up to the level of the competition.”
– Seth Vertelney
France has won the World Cup twice – in 1998 as the host nation and then in 2018.
France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni missed the round of 16 game with a muscle injury, replaced in the lineup by Manu Kone. Coach Didier Deschamps wasn’t sure a day before the game if Tchouameni would be able to feature.
“We have to be efficient, offensively speaking,” France boss Deschamps told a press conference. “In all the areas both teams have strong assets.”
“We are efficient but we could have done better on this front. Sometimes you have six chances and score two goals and sometimes you have two chances and score twice. It is more important to be efficient.”
France edged past Paraguay in the round of 16 with a scrappy 1-0 win courtesy of a Kylian Mbappe penalty. The France captain has seven goals in the tournament, second behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who has eight.
– Reuters
Round of 16
- July 4: France def Paraguay – Lincoln Financial Field
- July 4: Morocco def Canada – Houston
- July 5: Norway def Brazil – East Rutherford
- July 5: England def Mexico – Mexico City
- July 6: Spain def Portugal – Arlington
- July 6: Belgium def USA – Seattle
- July 7: Argentina def Egypt – Atlanta
- July 7: Switzerland def Colombia – Vancouver
Quarterfinals
- July 9: France vs. Morocco – Foxborough
- July 10: Spain vs. Belgium – Inglewood
- July 11: Norway vs. England – Miami
- July 11: Argentina vs. Switzerland – Kansas City
Argentina vs. Switzerland World Cup quarterfinals tickets
Get tickets to see Messi and Argentina face Switzerland at the famed GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Semifinals
- July 14: Foxborough/Inglewood winners – Arlington
- July 15: Miami/Kansas City winners – Atlanta
Final
- July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Kylian Mbappe led France to a championship as a teenager in 2018, his first career World Cup. He brought his team to the final in 2022 and scored a hat trick, but France lost to Argentina on penalty kicks.
Born in France, Kylian Mbappe is 27 years old and turns 28 in December.
What team does Ousmane Dembele play for?
Ousmane Dembele plays his club ball for Paris Saint-Germain and is the reigning Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s top player.
Morocco has never won the FIFA World Cup but is coming off its best-ever fourth place finish in 2022.
Who has the edge in France vs. Morocco?
France and Morocco meet in the World Cup quarterfinals with a semifinal spot on the line. Does France’s experience give it the advantage, or can Morocco’s momentum carry it through?
What team is Achraf Hakimi on?
Morocco right back Achraf Hakimi plays club soccer for Paris Saint-Germain and has helped the team win back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles.
- 2022: Argentina
- 2018: France
- 2014: Germany
- 2010: Spain
- 2006: Italy
- 2002: Brazil
- 1998: France
- 1994: Brazil
- 1990: West Germany
- 1986: Argentina
- 1982: Italy
- 1978: Argentina
- 1974: West Germany
- 1970: Brazil
- 1966: England
- 1962: Brazil
- 1958: Brazil
- 1954: West Germany
- 1950: Uruguay
- 1938: Italy
- 1934: Italy
- 1930: Uruguay
What team is Michael Olise on?
France’s Michael Olise plays for Bayern Munich in Germany.
Argentina defeated France in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, one of the greatest matches in history. Kylian Mbappe scored a hat trick for Les Bleus but Argentina won on penalty kicks.
