Mbappé and Dembélé fire France past Morocco into World Cup semifinals
Kylian Mbappé atoned for a first-half penalty miss with a stunning second-half goal as France defeated Morocco 2-0 in Boston to book a third consecutive World Cup semifinal.
Dominant first half
France controlled the opening 45 minutes at Gillette Stadium, pinning Morocco deep and creating a series of clear chances. Yassine Bounou kept the score level with a string of saves, denying Dayot Upamecano's close-range header and a low drive from Désiré Doué. Lucas Digne rattled the crossbar in stoppage time. The best opportunity fell to Mbappé after Noussair Mazraoui fouled him in the area, but the France captain's weak penalty was saved by Bounou, who has now stopped four of the nine spot-kicks he has faced at World Cups.
Mbappé's redemption
The breakthrough came on the hour mark. Mbappé collected a loose ball on the left edge of the box and curled an unstoppable shot into the far corner, leaving Bounou with no chance. The goal was his eighth of the tournament, drawing him level with Lionel Messi atop the scoring charts. Mbappé later left the pitch after a heavy challenge but waved to the crowd and told reporters,
I'm fine.
Dembélé seals it
Six minutes after the opener, Ousmane Dembélé doubled the lead with a driving run through the centre, finishing low into the bottom left corner for his fifth goal of the competition. Morocco, who had eliminated the Netherlands and Canada in earlier rounds, offered little in attack and failed to register a shot on target until the closing stages.
- Mbappé's low shot from outside the box is turned around the post by Bounou.
- Upamecano's header from a corner is saved on the line by Bounou.
- Mbappé wins a penalty but sees his weak effort saved by Bounou.
- Doué's shot from the left is parried by Bounou.
- Digne's lob strikes the crossbar.
- Mbappé curls a shot into the far corner to give France the lead.
- Dembélé drives through the centre and finishes low to make it 2-0.
Records and milestones
Didier Deschamps equalled Helmut Schön's record of 25 World Cup matches as a head coach, with 20 of those ending in victory. France have now reached the semifinals in three consecutive tournaments and have scored 16 goals while conceding only two across six matches in this edition.
What's next
France will face the winner of the Spain-Belgium quarterfinal on 14 July, with a place in the final at stake. Morocco's campaign ends at the last-eight stage, unable to repeat their historic semifinal run from 2022.
