France beat Morocco 2-0 in Boston on 10 July to reach the World Cup semi finals, with Kylian Mbappe recovering from a missed penalty to score a fine second half opener before setting up Ousmane Dembele to seal victory.
France dominated from the outset, forcing an early save from Yassine Bounou through Mbappe before Dayot Upamecano headed the resulting corner straight at the goalkeeper. Bounou produced another strong stop to deny Desire Doue midway through the half, after Ayyoub Bouaddi had been dispossessed in midfield and allowed the French winger to drive at goal.
The half’s defining moment arrived in the 25th minute, when Doue and Michael Olise combined to release Mbappe, who was brought down inside the box by Noussair Mazraoui. Referee Facundo Tello pointed to the spot after a lengthy delay of more than three minutes, needing a review to first rule out a foul on Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi in the build up. When the moment finally came, Mbappe’s tame effort was saved comfortably by Bounou, ending a run of nine consecutive converted penalties and sparking loud celebrations among the travelling Morocco support. It was the Sevilla goalkeeper’s fourth World Cup penalty save including shootouts, level with the outright record since 1966, and only the third of nine penalties faced at the tournament that he has failed to keep out.
Morocco offered little going forward in the first half, managing just a single shot, a wayward Hakimi free kick, and only one touch inside the France penalty area all half. The miss appeared to briefly unsettle France’s rhythm, with Lucas Digne rattling the crossbar from distance and Adrien Rabiot heading over from a corner as the hosts continued to search for a breakthrough before the interval.
France finally broke the deadlock on the hour mark. Mbappe found space inside the box, controlled Doue’s pass, and used Issa Diop as a screen to bend a superb finish into the far corner, a goal allowed to stand following a VAR check for handball in the build up. It was his eighth goal of the tournament, drawing him level with Lionel Messi at the top of the Golden Boot standings, and took his career World Cup tally to 20 in 20 appearances, five more than Ronaldo Nazario, eight more than Pele, nine more than Cristiano Ronaldo and 12 more than Diego Maradona, leaving him just one behind Messi’s all time record of 21.
France doubled their advantage six minutes later. Mbappe’s lay off allowed Dembele to advance into space and curl a low finish into the same corner, with Bounou getting a hand to the effort but unable to keep it out. It was Dembele’s fifth goal of the tournament, and with Mbappe on eight, France became only the second side in 50 years to have two players each score five or more goals at the same World Cup, after Brazil’s Ronaldo and Rivaldo in 2002.
Morocco made a flurry of substitutions in search of a way back into the contest, but France remained comfortably in control, with Bounou denying further efforts from Bradley Barcola and Jean Philippe Mateta as the match wound down. Mbappe was withdrawn in the 77th minute after appearing to pick up a slight knock to his ankle, though he left the pitch smiling and exchanging high fives with teammates, with attention now turning to his fitness ahead of a potential semi final.
The result ended Morocco’s tournament at the same stage and by the same scoreline they suffered against France four years earlier, this time one round further on than the semi final defeat suffered in Qatar. Across the last two World Cups, both of Morocco’s defeats without scoring have come by an identical 2-0 margin against the same opponents. France, by contrast, extended their defensive record to just two goals conceded all tournament, both against Norway and Senegal after they had already established two goal cushions.
The win took France into their eighth World Cup semi final, level with Brazil and behind only Germany’s twelve, and marked the 20th World Cup win of Didier Deschamps’ reign as manager, making him the first coach in history to reach that tally at the tournament. It was also his 25th World Cup match in charge, equalling the record held by West Germany’s Helmut Schoen. Mbappe’s involvement in 11 goals so far this tournament, eight goals and three assists, is the most by any player in a single edition since Gerd Muller’s ten goals and three assists in 1970, and makes him the only player on record since 1966 to register ten or more goal involvements across two separate World Cups, having also managed eight goals and two assists in Qatar four years ago.
For Morocco, elimination continued a difficult recent history for African nations at this stage of the tournament, with four of their five World Cup quarter final appearances across the continent ending in defeat, the sole exception being Morocco’s own win over Portugal in 2022.
France will face either Spain or Belgium for a place in the World Cup final, seeking a third consecutive appearance in the showpiece match in what is expected to be Deschamps’ final tournament in charge.
