France advanced to the 2026 World Cup semifinals Thursday with a 2-0 victory over Morocco at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele scored in a six-minute span in the second half to end Morocco's run in the tournament.
It was a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semifinal, when Morocco became the first Arab and African nation to reach the last four. This time, Morocco could not repeat the feat. The game was scoreless at halftime despite France dominating possession and preventing Morocco from registering a shot until stoppage time at the end of the first half.
The best chance of the first half came in the 25th minute when Mbappe won a penalty after being brought down near the Morocco goal. A VAR review that lasted several minutes delayed the kick. When Mbappe finally took the shot, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou dove low and to the right to save it.
France broke through in the 60th minute. Mbappe bent a right-foot shot from the edge of the area past Bounou for his eighth goal of the tournament. According to NPR, it was also a record 12th goal in knockout-round play and his 20th overall in World Cup competition. Dembele doubled the lead six minutes later, cutting through the Moroccan defense from midfield and steering a low finish into the bottom corner.
Morocco did not register a shot on goal until the 83rd minute, when Azzedine Ounahi's free kick was parried away by French goalkeeper Mike Maignan, according to Al Jazeera. Morocco finished the game without scoring.
Morocco's rise as a soccer power has not happened by chance. The Moroccan government has invested heavily in the national team for years, including building a training facility and academy about 15 years ago. "The king of that country made a decision," said Zayn Nabbi, host of the podcast On The Whistle, about African soccer. "They were gonna invest in football, and they were gonna use it as soft power. A host of stars are turning down the opportunity to play for European nations to play for Morocco."
One example is 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who was born in France to Moroccan parents and was courted by the French national team before choosing Morocco.
France will next face the winner of Friday's quarterfinal between European champions Spain and Belgium, with that semifinal scheduled for Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
