By Shaagee Orkula
France moved a step closer to winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday night after defeating Morocco 2-0 in their quarter-final clash at Boston Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, to book a place in the last four for the third consecutive tournament.
Inspired by Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, Les Bleus produced a dominant display, overwhelming the Atlas Lions with relentless attacking football to continue their impressive march through the competition.
France controlled possession for long spells and created a barrage of chances, outshooting Morocco 22-4, while restricting the African side to just one effort on target throughout the contest.
Morocco’s goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou(Bono), initially kept his team in the game with a superb save from Mbappe’s 26th-minute penalty, ensuring the teams went into halftime deadlocked despite France’s overwhelming superiority.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 60th minute when Mbappe curled a clinical finish beyond defender Issa Diop and into the bottom corner for his eighth goal of the tournament.
The strike drew the French captain level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot as the tournament’s leading scorer.
Only six minutes later, France effectively sealed victory when Ousmane Dembele drilled a low shot past Bounou to make it 2-0.
It was Dembele’s fifth goal of the World Cup and his fourth at Boston Stadium during the tournament.
Mbappe was substituted in the 77th minute after briefly going down on the pitch, but eased fears of an injury by walking off unassisted and acknowledging cheering supporters.
The victory means France have now reached the World Cup semi-finals for the third successive edition, underlining their status as one of international football’s dominant forces.
Les Bleus have scored an astonishing 16 goals while conceding just twice in the tournament and have now kept three consecutive clean sheets in the knockout rounds.
France will now face the winner of the quarter-final between Spain and Belgium in Tuesday’s semi-final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as they continue their quest for another world title.
For Morocco, the defeat brought to an end a remarkable 35-match unbeaten run stretching back to August 2025.
The Atlas Lions were also hampered by the absence of key attacking midfielder Ismaiel Saibari, whose creativity was sorely missed against the disciplined French defence.