France are back in a World Cup semi-final.
Les Bleus beat Morocco 2–0 at Boston Stadium, with Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scoring six minutes apart in the second half to put the quarter-final to bed.
For Morocco, it was a pretty painful bit of déjà vu.
France also knocked them out 2–0 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, ending one of the great underdog runs of the tournament.
Four years on, Morocco had the chance to return the favour. Instead, they ran into the same problem: France being France.
The first half was tight enough to suggest Morocco might make a real mess of it. Mbappé missed a penalty before the break, and Morocco did well to stay organised, frustrate France, and keep the game alive.
Then the second half arrived, and France found the switch.
Mbappé made up for his earlier miss in the 60th minute, before Dembélé doubled the lead in the 66th. From there, France didn’t need to turn it into a spectacle. They managed the game, slowed things down, and gave Morocco very little room to drag themselves back into it.
The win sends Didier Deschamps’ side into a third straight World Cup semi-final, following their 2018 title win and their run to the final in 2022. It’s a ridiculous level of consistency, but also not exactly surprising anymore.
France are the first team to qualify for the @FIFAWorldCup 2026 semi-finals 👏🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/ZHBaSyBpRK
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) July 9, 2026
Morocco can still leave with another strong campaign behind them, but this one will sting. They had their chance at revenge, and for an hour, they looked capable of making France sweat.
Then Mbappé happened. Then Dembélé happened. Then France happened.
Les Bleus will now face the winner of Spain vs Belgium for a place in the final.
