France produced another dominant display to defeat Morocco 2-0 and book their place in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, further underlining why they are favourites to lift the trophy.
Kylian Mbappé and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé scored second-half goals as Didier Deschamps’ side ended Morocco’s impressive World Cup run and kept alive their dream of winning a third world title.
France started brightly and nearly took the lead early on when Mbappé’s powerful long-range effort was pushed away by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. The Moroccan shot-stopper was called into action again moments later to deny Dayot Upamecano’s header.
Les Bleus were handed a golden opportunity to open the scoring when Mbappé was brought down inside the penalty area by Noussair Mazraoui. However, the Real Madrid forward saw his poorly taken penalty comfortably saved by Bounou.
Despite the missed chance, France remained in complete control. Désiré Doué tested Bounou with another effort, while Lucas Digne struck the crossbar as Morocco struggled to contain the relentless French attacks.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 60th minute when Mbappé made up for his earlier miss. The striker cut inside from the left before curling a superb finish beyond Bounou to score his eighth goal of the tournament.
Only six minutes later, France doubled their advantage. Dembélé drove at the Moroccan defence before firing a low shot that slipped through Bounou’s hands and into the net to make it 2-0.
Morocco, who had impressed throughout the tournament, found it difficult to trouble the French defence. The Atlas Lions managed only one shot on target and failed to score, with the absence of injured striker Ismael Saibari clearly affecting their attack.
Mbappé was substituted late in the match with ice placed on his right ankle, although he later celebrated freely with his teammates, easing concerns over any serious injury.
The victory was France’s sixth consecutive win at the tournament, with Les Bleus now scoring 16 goals in six matches—the highest total of any team in the competition.
France will now face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals as they continue their bid for a third FIFA World Cup crown and strengthen their claim as the team to beat in the tournament.
