France beat Morocco to become the first team to reach the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup
The French national team became the first semi-finalists of the 2026 World Cup after beating Morocco 2–0. The match took place at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, near Boston.
The French side dominated proceedings from the very first minutes and created numerous dangerous chances. As early as the fourth minute, Kylian Mbappé struck from distance, but Morocco’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou tipped the ball away for a corner. Following the corner, Dayot Upamecano headed the ball towards goal, but Bouna once again came to his team’s rescue.
In the 25th minute, the referee awarded a penalty against Morocco following a foul by Nussair Mazraoui on Mbappé. The French striker failed to convert the spot-kick, as Bouna caught the ball after it was struck towards the bottom-right corner.
The French continued to attack before half-time. Ousmane Dembélé shot wide, Désiré Doué was unable to beat Bouna, and in stoppage time, Lucas Digne hit the crossbar. The first half ended goalless.
The deadlock was broken in the 60th minute. Désiré Doué played a pass just outside the penalty area to Kylian Mbappé, who put France ahead with a precise shot into the far corner.
Six minutes later, the French extended their lead. Ousmane Dembélé received a pass from Mbappé, drove towards goal and slotted the ball low into the bottom right-hand corner.
For Kylian Mbappé, this goal was his eighth at this World Cup. He has now drawn level with Lionel Messi on the tournament’s all-time goalscoring list. Furthermore, the Frenchman now has 20 World Cup goals to his name, whilst Messi has 21. Ousmane Dembélé scored his fifth goal of the tournament.
In the semi-final, which will take place on 14 July in Arlington, France will face the winner of the quarter-final between Spain and Belgium.
The French and Moroccan national teams have met in the World Cup knockout stages for the second time in a row. At the 2022 tournament in Qatar, the French also beat Morocco 2–0 in the semi-final. According to official statistics, France have never lost to the Moroccan team. They have five wins and three draws to their name.
The stands at the stadium in Foxborough were dominated by supporters of the Moroccan national team. Ahead of the match, numerous Moroccan fans from various regions of North America had travelled to Boston
