Match Report: France 2-0 Morocco

Kylian Mbappé bounced back from an early penalty miss to inspire France to a 2-0 victory over Morocco on Thursday, sending the runners-up of the 2022 tournament back into the semi-finals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

After seeing his first-half penalty saved by Yassine Bounou, Mbappé produced a superb second-half goal before setting up former PSG teammate Ousmane Dembélé for France’s second, ending Morocco’s impressive World Cup run.

France will now face either Spain or Belgium in the semi finals in Dallas next Tuesday.
Les Bleus has now reached the World Cup semi finals for the third tournament in a row after winning the title in 2018 and finishing as runners up in 2022.

Morocco was backed by a large section of the crowd but struggled to threaten in attack, especially without their injured star forward Ismael Saibari. France was able to keep their third consecutive clean sheet in the knockout stage against the Moroccans.

Kylian Mbappé continued his outstanding tournament despite having an early setback. The Real Madrid forward has now scored eight goals at this World Cup, drawing level once again with Lionel Messi in the race for this year’s Golden Boot. He has also reached 20 goals in 20 World Cup appearances, leaving him just one short of Messi’s all-time tournament record.

It was a repeat of the semi-final in Qatar 2022 between the two nations, and the result proved to be no different as France once again emerged victorious. The only change to Didier Deschamps’ starting line-up at the Gillette Stadium was the inclusion of Désiré Doué in place of Bradley Barcola, after the youngster won the decisive penalty in France’s Round of 16 victory over Paraguay.

Les Bleus made a bright start, with Kylian Mbappé testing Yassine Bounou from long range inside the opening three minutes. However, the Al Hilal goalkeeper reacted well to push the effort behind for a corner. Bounou produced another outstanding save just a minute later, denying Dayot Upamecano from close range after he met Ousmane Dembélé’s inviting cross.

France were awarded a penalty in the 25th minute after Noussair Mazraoui brought down Mbappé following a quick counter attack. The referee confirmed the decision after a VAR review, but Bounou guessed correctly and comfortably denied Mbappé from the spot kick.

Bounou continued to frustrate France before half-time, making another excellent save to deny Désiré Doué after the midfielder won possession high up the pitch. Lucas Digne also came close when his powerful effort struck the top of the crossbar.

France finally broke the deadlock 15 minutes into the second half. Doué slipped a pass to Mbappé just outside the penalty area and the forward controlled the ball before curling a superb finish beyond Bounou to make it 1-0.

Mbappé then turned provider six minutes later, playing Dembélé through on goal. The Ballon d’Or winner kept his composure and placed a low shot into the far corner to double France’s lead despite Bounou getting a hand to the ball.

Morocco continued to fight until the final whistle but could not find a way past the French defence, as France secured another professional victory to keep their hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final alive.

Morocco’s World Cup journey comes to an end as the last remaining African nation in the tournament. While they fell one step short of matching their historic run to the semi-finals in 2022, the Atlas Lions can leave with their heads held high after another impressive campaign that reinforced their place among the world’s leading football nations.