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France booked their place in a third consecutive FIFA World Cup semi-final after second-half goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé sealed a convincing 2-0 victory over Morocco in Thursday’s quarter-final at Boston Stadium.
After a tightly contested first half ended goalless, Didier Deschamps’ side raised the tempo after the break and quickly asserted their dominance against the Atlas Lions.
Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 60th minute, finishing clinically after being picked out by Désiré Doué to hand France the breakthrough they had been searching for.
Just six minutes later, France doubled their advantage as Mbappé turned provider, setting up Dembélé, who calmly finished beyond Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to put the result beyond doubt.
Morocco, who became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final in 2022, struggled to create meaningful opportunities against a disciplined French defence led by William Saliba and goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
France controlled possession for long spells and repeatedly threatened on the counter-attack, with substitutes Jean-Philippe Mateta and Bradley Barcola both going close to adding a third goal late in the contest.
The victory extends France’s remarkable World Cup consistency, sending Les Bleus into a third successive semi-final as they continue their pursuit of another global title.
For Morocco, the defeat ends another impressive World Cup campaign, although the Atlas Lions once again demonstrated why they remain among Africa’s leading football nations.
France will now turn their attention to the semi-finals, where they are expected to face another European heavyweight as they bid to move one step closer to lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy once again.
