France booked their place in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup on Thursday night, defeating Morocco 2-0 in a tightly contested quarterfinal at Gillette Stadium outside Boston. Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele in the second half were enough to see off a spirited Moroccan side and send Les Bleus into a third consecutive World Cup semifinal, continuing their remarkable run at this year’s tournament in North America.
The match had been billed as one of the toughest tests of the World Cup for Didier Deschamps’ side, with African champions Morocco expected to provide a stern challenge to France’s ambitions of reaching another final. For long stretches, Morocco held firm defensively, frustrating France’s attacking players and denying them clear sight of goal. Yassine Bounou was outstanding in the Moroccan goal, and his heroics included saving a first-half penalty from Mbappe after the French captain had been fouled by Noussair Mazraoui inside the box. The spot kick only arrived after a lengthy VAR review, and when it finally came, Bounou guessed correctly to keep the score level at halftime.
Despite the setback, France continued to press and eventually found the breakthrough their dominance deserved. On 60 minutes, Mbappe curled a brilliant right-footed effort from the edge of the area beyond Bounou’s reach, his eighth goal of the World Cup and a strike that underlined why he remains one of the tournament’s most feared forwards. Six minutes later, Paris Saint-Germain forward Dembele doubled the advantage, driving forward from midfield before slotting a composed finish into the bottom corner to put the result beyond doubt.
Morocco rarely threatened France’s goal throughout the contest and did not manage a single shot on target until deep into the second half, when Azzedine Ounahi’s 83rd-minute free-kick was comfortably parried away by goalkeeper Mike Maignan. The result ended Morocco’s own hopes of a historic run at this World Cup, though their journey to the quarterfinals will still be remembered as one of the standout stories of the competition.
For France, the win extends an extraordinary sequence of World Cup performances under Deschamps, who has now guided the team to the last four in three straight editions of the tournament. The 2018 champions will next face either Spain or Belgium in the semifinal, scheduled for Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, with that quarterfinal tie set to be decided in Los Angeles. Spain, unbeaten and yet to concede a goal at this World Cup, eliminated Portugal in the round of 16, while Belgium reached the quarterfinals after a comprehensive 4-1 win over the United States.
Elsewhere in the competition, holders Argentina continued their pursuit of back-to-back titles, needing a dramatic comeback from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 and reach the quarterfinals, where they will meet Switzerland. That match was not without controversy, as Egypt coach Hossam Hassan suggested officiating decisions had favored Argentina, claims that were firmly rejected by FIFA’s chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, who insisted the integrity of World Cup officials could not be questioned.
As the World Cup moves into its final stages, attention now turns to the remaining quarterfinal matchups, including a high-profile clash between England and Norway’s in-form striker Erling Haaland. For France, though, the focus is squarely on preparing for a semifinal that could take them one step closer to lifting the trophy for a third time, with Mbappe and Dembele once again proving decisive when it mattered most.
