France secured its place in the World Cup semifinals for the third consecutive tournament with a 2-0 victory over Morocco. The match saw goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, continuing France’s strong performance in the competition.
Mbappé opened the scoring in the second half, bringing his goal tally for the tournament to eight. This places him at the top of the Golden Boot race, ahead of Lionel Messi due to a greater number of assists. Despite scoring, Mbappé had an earlier penalty saved by Morocco’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou after a three-minute delay. Dembélé then extended France’s lead, solidifying their win.
Key Moments and Player Performances
The game featured several notable moments, including Mbappé’s early second-half goal, which came after a period of scrappy play where Morocco failed to clear the ball. Desire Doue poked a loose ball to Mbappé on the left edge of the area. Facing defender Issa Diop, Mbappé created space and curled the ball around him, blindsiding Bounou. The shot, struck with his right foot, arced into the top-right corner.
Earlier, Mbappé was awarded a penalty after being fouled. However, the wait of three minutes and ten seconds before he could take the kick, due to a VAR check, seemed to affect his attempt. His low effort was saved by Bounou, marking Mbappé’s first penalty miss after a streak of 15 conversions. Bounou, known for his penalty-saving abilities, has now saved more penalties in the World Cup than any other goalkeeper, including two in shootouts in the 2022 and 2026 tournaments.
During the match, Mbappé was substituted off with 13 minutes remaining. He was seen with an ice pack on his right ankle after exiting the field. However, he later joined his team’s celebrations, suggesting the injury may not be severe.
France’s Path Forward
France’s victory means they have not fallen behind once in this World Cup, a testament to their consistent performance. Their attacking prowess, particularly when leading, allows their forwards to exploit spaces created by opponents trying to equalize. Dembélé’s goal against Morocco exemplified this, as he capitalized on a counter-attack.
The team is now set to play the winner of the match between Belgium and Spain in the semifinals. This marks France’s third consecutive appearance in the World Cup semifinals, as they aim to reach the final for the third time in a row.
Other quarterfinal matches scheduled include Norway against England and Argentina versus Switzerland. England’s recent win over Mexico at the Estadio Azteca was described as their best ever on foreign soil at a major tournament, setting up their clash with Erling Haaland’s Norway.
In other tournament news, USMNT star Christian Pulisic was confirmed to have sustained a bone bruise and microfracture in the tibia/fibula of his right leg, an injury that led to his substitution in the second half of the USMNT’s 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16. This match between the United States and Belgium garnered significant viewership, with 33.068 million viewers on one broadcast and an additional 12 million on the Spanish telecast.
Individual Achievements and Team Depth
Mbappé’s involvement in 11 goals (eight goals, three assists) at the 2026 World Cup is the most by a player in a single edition since Gerd Müller in 1970, who had 10 goals and three assists. He is now five goals shy of the record for the most goals in a single World Cup campaign, held by Just Fontaine, who scored 13 in the 1958 edition.
While Mbappé is a significant contributor, scoring 50 percent of France’s goals in this World Cup, the team’s strength is not solely dependent on him. Dembélé has scored five goals in the competition, and other players like Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue have also contributed. This contrasts with other teams where goal-scoring is more concentrated, such as Argentina, where only one other forward besides Lionel Messi has scored, and Norway, where only one other forward besides Erling Haaland has scored.
France’s next match will be a semifinal on Tuesday against either Spain or Belgium.
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Source: sports.yahoo.com
