(Boston, July 10) The France vs Morocco quarter-final at the 2026 World Cup ended in familiar fashion — a 2-0 win for France — repeating the exact scoreline from their semi-final meeting at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Goals from Mbappe and Dembele either side of the hour mark secured France’s place in the final four, extending their unbeaten run in this World Cup to five matches.
If the first half belonged to anyone, it belonged to Morocco goalkeeper Bounou. France created chance after chance but were repeatedly denied, most dramatically when Mbappe‘s penalty in the 25th minute was saved with Bounou diving to his right and smothering the ball. The French captain had also been denied in the sixth minute by Bounou, who then went on to keep out shots from Papo and Doue as France’s creative output went unrewarded. Digne struck the crossbar in injury time to cap a first half of extraordinary profligacy from the tournament favourites.
The second half told a different story. France were more direct, quicker in transition, and Mbappe made the breakthrough in the 60th minute with a controlled finish after intercepting the ball in the attacking third. Mbappe then turned creator six minutes later, threading an incisive pass to Dembele who cut inside from the right and drove a low shot beyond Bounou to double France’s lead.
Morocco threw on substitutes including Rahimi in an attempt to reduce the deficit, but France defended with calm authority and Maignan was rarely troubled. The 2-0 scoreline stood, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals and ending Morocco’s impressive run at this year’s tournament.
