Kylian Mbappé saw an early penalty saved by a brilliant Yassine Bounou, but France eventually broke Morocco’s resistance in Boston as Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé sealed a dominant 2-0 win and a place in the FIFA World Cup semifinals.
France is heading back to the World Cup semifinals, and once again, Kylian Mbappé was at the center of everything.
In a Round of 8 FIFA World Cup clash that France controlled from start to finish, Didier Deschamps’ team defeated Morocco 2-0 in Boston, overcoming first-half frustration, a missed penalty and an inspired performance from Yassine Bounou before finally turning its dominance into a decisive victory.
Morocco fought, defended and leaned on one of the best goalkeeping performances of the knockout stage, but France’s pressure never truly faded. After a scoreless first half filled with French chances, Mbappé broke the game open on the hour mark with a superb finish to the far post. Six minutes later, Ousmane Dembélé doubled the lead and effectively ended Morocco’s dream run.
For France, this was a mature, controlled and ruthless knockout performance. For Morocco, it was a night of resistance without enough attacking presence, with the absence of Ismael Saibari weighing heavily on a team that struggled to find rhythm and danger in the final third.
France nearly struck early when Dayot Upamecano rose inside the box and sent a close-range header toward goal, only for Bounou to react sharply and keep Morocco level. That save set the tone for the first half, as the Moroccan goalkeeper quickly became the central figure of the match.
Mbappé then won a penalty after Noussair Mazraoui’s clumsy challenge inside the area, giving France the perfect chance to take control before the half-hour mark. But Bounou read Mbappé’s attempt, produced another major stop and briefly kept Morocco alive.
France kept coming. Désiré Doué forced Bounou into another excellent save from close range, while Lucas Digne later clipped the top of the crossbar before halftime. Morocco survived the first half, but the warning signs were constant.
The breakthrough finally came in the 60th minute. Mbappé, who had been denied from the spot earlier, found space and delivered the moment France had been waiting for. His finish to the far post left Bounou with no chance and made the French captain the outright leading scorer of the tournament.
That goal changed everything. Morocco’s defensive structure, so disciplined for much of the night, finally cracked. Just six minutes later, Dembélé added the second, finishing off the match and sending France one step closer to another World Cup final.
In midfield, Manu Koné delivered a tireless performance, setting the tone with his physical presence, ball-winning and control. Adrien Rabiot was less influential, but France’s overall balance never suffered. Dembélé provided the killer second goal, Doué added energy between the lines, and Mbappé turned a difficult first-half moment into another defining World Cup night.
For Morocco, Bounou was outstanding and Achraf Hakimi competed with pride and intensity, but too many attacking pieces fell short. Bilal El Khannouss struggled as the central forward, Talbi could not provide enough impact, and the decision not to start Soufiane Rahimi did not pay off. Without Saibari, Morocco lacked the creativity and sharpness needed to hurt France consistently.
France advances to the semifinals with authority. Morocco exits after a brave campaign, but in Boston, the gap was clear: France had the stars, the control and, eventually, the finishing touch.
Match Report
Goals: 60’ Kylian Mbappé, 66’ Ousmane Dembélé
France 4-2-3-1: Mike Maignan; Jules Koundé (87’ Malo Gusto), Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Koné (70’ Warren Zaïre-Emery), Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué (78’ Bradley Barcola); Kylian Mbappé (77’ Jean-Philippe Mateta).
Head coach: Didier Deschamps
Morocco 4-2-3-1: Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Diop, Noussair Mazraoui, Anass Salah-Eddine (74’ El Ouahdi); Neil El Aynaoui, Ayyoub Bouaddi (63’ Sofyan Amrabat); Brahim Díaz (74’ Yassine), Azzedine Ounahi, Talbi (85’ Sbai); Bilal El Khannouss (63’ Soufiane Rahimi).
Head coach: Mohamed Ouahbi
Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)
Yellow cards: Diop
Red cards: None
Notes: Yassine Bounou saved a Kylian Mbappé penalty in the 28th minute. France advances to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Mbappé became the outright leading scorer of the tournament after his second-half goal. Morocco was heavily affected by the absence of Ismael Saibari.
