France has sealed their spot in their third consecutive World Cup semifinal with a 2-0 victory over Morocco in the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The France vs Morocco quarterfinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was played in the Boston Stadium. This was a rematch of one of the semifinal games from the 2022 World Cup.
Did France Beat Morocco in World Cup Quarterfinal
This match strategically took the form of a typical game where one team is clearly stronger than the other. The stronger team dominates attack and possession, while the weaker team sits back and waits for the counter-attack.
While Morocco has emerged as one of the strongest international sides over the past four years, Les Bleus are the best international team in the world. From the starting minutes of the game, France was seen taking the ball forward. Their first attempts on target came within five minutes of the match.
After controlling the game in the first quarter, Kylian Mbappé was brought down in the box by Noussair Mazraoui in the 25th minute. And after a VAR check, a penalty was awarded. However, the French skipper missed the penalty and the chance to give his team the lead.
After the hydration break, the game began in the same manner it ended. In the first 30 or so minutes of this match, France had taken 10 shots, three of which were on target. This compared to Morocco’s zero.
However, the first half ended with the French failing to score any goals, despite having taken a lot more shots. The team looked indecisive in the attacking third and, on occasion, was toothless in front of goal. On the other hand, Morocco had started keeping a lot more possessions, but to no avail. While one team had 22 shots by the end of the half, the other had five. No points for guessing which was which.
The second half began with the Atlas Lions looking more aggressive. In the 28th minute, a decent attempt was blocked by French goalkeeper Mike Maignan. Meanwhile, Moroccan goalie Yassine Bounou was having a stellar game so far.
Around the 55-minute mark, France had taken control of the game again, and while the likes of Mbappé and Désiré Doué had taken several shots on target, only for them to be saved, the 2018 world champions looked tantalisingly close to scoring.
The goal came in the 60th minute with some Mbappé magic. The French captain found the ball at the edge of the box, took a shot that curled past defender Issa Diop, and slotted the ball into the net, 1-0 France.
With that goal, France established their dominance in the game; meanwhile, Morocco started looking a bit desperate. Following the goal, the defending African champions made a couple of changes on the side, making the lineup more attack-focused with an outright No. 9 in Soufiane Rahimi.
However, the changes did not change the fact that France was still the better side in the No. 9 contest. In the 66th minute, they extended their lead to two goals. After cutting to the middle, Ousmane Dembélé took a right-footed shot from outside the box, and the ball sneaked into the bottom-right corner, making the score 2-0.
This goal all but sealed the match for France. To have any chance from here, Morocco needed a miracle, a miracle that never came. While they did create a few weak chances in the last half hour of the game, that did not bring them any viable scoring opportunities.
On the other hand, France was still quite pacy on the flanks, and their attacking players created some more chances, but they did not score again in the game. After taking a 2-goal lead, Kylian Mbappé was taken off the field. That was the level of confidence manager Didier Deschamps had in his team winning the match with a two-goal lead and just over 20 minutes remaining.
In the end, this France vs Morocco match ended with a 2-0 scoreline. With this win, the French have reached their third consecutive World Cup semi-final.
France will face the winner of the Spain vs Belgium match in the first semifinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be played on Wednesday, July 15, at 12:30 am (IST) in Dallas Stadium.
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