France became the first nation to secure a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals after defeating Morocco 2-0 in an entertaining quarter-final at Boston Stadium on Thursday. After a dramatic first half, headlined by Yassine Bounou's penalty save from Kylian Mbappe, Les Bleus found their breakthrough in the second half as Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele struck six minutes apart to keep Didier Deschamps' side on course for a second World Cup title in three editions.
France threatened as early as the fourth minute when Mbappe's powerful effort flashed narrowly wide. However, the biggest chance of the opening half arrived in the 25th minute after Noussair Mazraoui brought down the France captain inside the penalty area. Following a lengthy VAR review, Mbappe stepped up to take the spot-kick, only for Bounou to dive to his left and produce a superb save, keeping the scores level.
The French continued to press after the restart. Bounou comfortably gathered a long-range effort from Désiré Doué before Mbappe fired over from close range after being picked out by Michael Olise. The breakthrough finally arrived in the 60th minute when Mbappe cut inside from the left and curled a sublime effort into the far corner to give Les Bleus the lead. Morocco responded with a double substitution, but France doubled their lead six minutes later as Mbappe turned provider, slipping a pass into Ousmane Dembele, who beat Bounou with an excellent low finish from the edge of the box.
ALSO READ | Kylian Mbappe Reclaims Golden Boot Lead With Stunning Goal Against Morocco In World Cup 2026 Quarter-Final
Issa Diop was booked shortly after for hauling down Mbappe as Morocco struggled to contain the French attack. Deschamps freshened up his side with a series of substitutions, including withdrawing Mbappe in the 76th minute after the forward appeared to be nursing a knock. Bounou continued to impress late on, producing fine saves to deny Bradley Barcola and Jean-Philippe Mateta, but Morocco could not find a way back as France comfortably saw out victory.
The quarter-final also produced several notable milestones. Mbappe's goal was the 20th of his World Cup career, making him the first player to reach that mark before the age of 30 while moving within one goal of Lionel Messi's all-time tournament record. His eighth goal of the tournament, coupled with three assists, also lifted him to the top of the Golden Boot standings ahead of Messi. Under FIFA's official tiebreaker rules, players level on goals are separated by assists before minutes played.
Earlier in the match, Bounou also equalled the World Cup record for penalty saves (including shootouts) with his fourth, while France reached a third consecutive World Cup semi-final for the first time in their history.
Les Bleus will face the winners of the quarter-final between Spain and Belgium in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final on July 14, looking to reach a third consecutive World Cup final.
ALSO READ | Kylian Mbappe Misses Penalty As Yassine Bounou Equals World Cup Record In France vs Morocco Quarter-Final
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.