France booked their place in a third consecutive FIFA World Cup semi-final with a clinical 2-0 victory over Morocco in Boston, ending the Atlas Lions’ impressive campaign and moving two wins away from another world title.
The quarter-final began under the scorching afternoon sun, with France immediately asserting their dominance. Just five minutes into the contest, Les Bleus came close to taking the lead when a short corner routine found Dayot Upamecano unmarked at the back post, but Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou produced an excellent save to deny the defender.
France continued to press and were handed a golden opportunity in the 26th minute. Kylian Mbappe burst forward on the counterattack, beating Noussair Mazraoui with a trademark stepover before being brought down inside the penalty area, leaving the referee with no option but to point to the spot.
However, the French captain failed to capitalise. After a delay of more than three minutes before taking the kick, Mbappe’s tame penalty was brilliantly saved by Bounou, who dived to his right to keep the scores level. The save further enhanced the Moroccan goalkeeper’s reputation, making him the first goalkeeper to save four penalties in FIFA World Cup history.
Following the hydration break in the 29th minute, Morocco gained confidence while Bounou continued his outstanding performance. He produced another fine stop to deny Désiré Doué after Ayyoub Bouaddi lost possession in his own half.
France almost found the breakthrough in first-half stoppage time when Lucas Digne unleashed a spectacular effort from distance, only to see his strike cannon off the crossbar.
Despite dominating possession and creating the better chances, France entered the break frustrated as the score remained 0-0. Mbappe’s missed penalty and Bounou’s heroics were the defining moments of the opening 45 minutes, while Morocco failed to register a single shot on target.
Morocco started the second half with greater intent, matching their entire first-half tally of shots and touches inside the French penalty area within the opening three minutes. Nevertheless, France gradually regained control through the creativity of Michael Olise.
In the 57th minute, Olise produced a moment of brilliance, turning away from his marker before slipping Mbappe through on goal, but the French skipper blazed his effort over the bar.
Mbappe would not be denied for long.
Just after the hour mark, the forward collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area, shifted onto his right foot and curled a superb finish into the far corner. It was a moment of individual brilliance and his 20th FIFA World Cup goal, redeeming himself after the earlier penalty miss.
Only six minutes later, France delivered the knockout blow.
Ousmane Dembele exploited the space created by Mbappe’s movement before firing a precise low finish into the bottom corner to double France’s advantage and leave Morocco with a mountain to climb.
Morocco struggled to respond and, heading into the final ten minutes, had still failed to register a shot on target. The absence of injured forward Ismaël Saibari, who had scored three goals during the tournament, was evident as the Atlas Lions lacked their usual attacking threat.
France comfortably managed the closing stages to secure a 2-0 victory, eliminating Morocco from the World Cup for the second consecutive tournament and advancing to yet another semi-final.
Les Bleus are now just two victories away from lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy once again, while Morocco bow out after another memorable campaign that further underlined their emergence as one of world football’s rising powers.
| Match Stats | France 2-0 Morocco | ||
| Stat | France | Morocco |
| Possession | 44% | 49% |
| Attempts at Goal | 22 | 5 |
| Shots on Target | 8 | 1 |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 2.89 | 0.17 |
| Corners | 5 | 5 |
| Passes Completed | 441 | 454 |
| Ball Recovery Time | 19 sec | 14 sec |
| Yellow Cards | 0 | 1 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
