France knocked out Morocco from the 2026 FIFA World Cup to reach the semifinals for the third consecutive time following a 2-0 win on Thursday night.
The first half was fiercely contested, but France dominated possession and created the better chances, registering three shots on target. Kylian Mbappé squandered a golden opportunity to put Les Bleus ahead in the 28th minute when his penalty was comfortably saved by Yassine Bounou.
France maintained their dominance after the break, pinning the North Africans deep inside their own half. Mbappé eventually made amends for his earlier miss, breaking the deadlock with a superb finish into the far corner after being picked out by Désiré Doué.
The French tightened their grip on the contest and doubled their advantage six minutes later. This time, Mbappé turned provider, setting up reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, who curled a low effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Bounou was caught off guard and was unable to react in time.
At 2-0, the match had effectively slipped beyond Morocco’s reach. The Atlas Lions, Africa’s last remaining representatives in the tournament, were unable to surpass their historic 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign, when they also saw their journey end in the semifinals.
France will now face the winner of tonight’s second quarterfinal between Spain and Belgium as they bid to reach a third consecutive FIFA World Cup final after finishing runners-up to Argentina in the previous edition.
READ MORE: Three reasons why African teams fumbled it at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
