France End Morocco's World Cup Dream With 2-0 Quarter-Final Victory

France End Morocco's World Cup Dream With 2-0 Quarter-Final Victory

By BSN Sports 

France booked their place in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a convincing 2-0 victory over Morocco, repeating the same scoreline that saw Les Bleus eliminate the Atlas Lions in the semi-finals of the 2022 tournament in Qatar, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Kylian Mbappé redeemed himself after an earlier missed penalty by opening the scoring in the 60th minute. The France captain latched onto a well-weighted pass from Désiré Doué before calmly finishing with his right foot to register his eighth goal of the tournament, drawing level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.

France doubled their advantage six minutes later through Ousmane Dembélé. The winger capitalised after Morocco failed to clear their lines following a foul by Issa Diop, with Mbappé providing the assist as Dembélé sealed victory for Didier Deschamps' side.

Earlier in the match, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou produced another impressive save to deny Mbappé from the penalty spot in the 28th minute after the French forward was brought down in the box. The save further enhanced Bounou's reputation as one of the world's finest penalty specialists, having conceded only a handful of penalties across regular play and shootouts in major competitions.

The victory extended France's dominance over Morocco in meetings between the two nations. Les Bleus remain unbeaten in six encounters, recording four wins and two draws. Their only previous FIFA World Cup meeting also ended in a 2-0 French victory during the semi-finals of the 2022 edition in Qatar.

France, who lifted the World Cup in 1998 and 2018, continue their quest for a third global title, while Morocco's campaign ends after another commendable run. The Atlas Lions' historic semi-final appearance in 2022 remains their best performance at the tournament.

Les Bleus will now face the winner of the quarter-final between Spain and Belgium in the first semi-final scheduled for July 14 in Arlington.

Remaining quarter-final fixtures:

Spain vs Belgium – Friday, 8:00 p.m.

Norway vs England – Saturday, 10:00 p.m.

Argentina vs Switzerland – Sunday, 2:00 a.m.