France booked their place in the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a commanding 2-0 victory over Morocco in the quarterfinal at Gillette Stadium in Boston, as Kylian Mbappe scored once and set up another for Ousmane Dembele.
Mbappe broke the deadlock in the 60th minute before creating France's second goal six minutes later, with Dembele completing the move to put the result beyond Morocco.
Although Morocco enjoyed possession for long stretches of the contest, they rarely threatened in the final third. France consistently looked the more dangerous side and had an opportunity to take the lead much earlier when Mbappe won a penalty but failed to convert it.
The French captain was brought down inside the penalty area by Noussair Mazraoui in the 25th minute as he looked poised to score. Neither Mazraoui nor any of his teammates disputed the referee's decision to award the penalty. Despite that, play was halted for more than three minutes while the video assistant referee (VAR) reviewed the incident. When the check was finally completed, Mbappe's spot-kick lacked conviction and was comfortably saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
That penalty proved to be the only major talking point of an otherwise subdued first half. France attempted 13 shots before the break, with only three testing the goalkeeper, while Morocco managed just one effort that failed to hit the target.
Morocco emerged with greater intent after halftime and briefly looked capable of frustrating the defending champions. However, France eventually found the breakthrough through Mbappe.
Desire Doue picked out Mbappe on the left edge of the D. The forward took a touch to cut inside the penalty area before curling a shot beyond Bounou into the far corner to give France a 1-0 advantage in the 60th minute.
France doubled their lead six minutes later after Mbappe turned creator. Receiving a pass from Michael Olise near the centre circle in the Moroccan half, the captain shifted the ball left to Dembele. The Paris Saint-Germain forward advanced unchallenged to the edge of the D before unleashing a powerful effort. Although Bounou got a hand to the shot, he could not keep it out as the ball crossed the line.
Morocco's closest opportunity to pull a goal back came after France centre back Dayot Upamecano mishit an attempted clearance, nearly looping the ball over his own goalkeeper Mike Maignan. The ball drifted safely over the crossbar for a corner, but the resulting set piece came to nothing.
France, chasing a third FIFA World Cup title, will now meet the winner of Friday's (Saturday 12.30am IST) quarterfinal between Spain and Belgium in the semifinals.
