Kylian Mbappé scored the 8th goal of the World Cup as France beat Morocco again
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In the second World Cup in a row, France sent Morocco home with a 2-0 victory.
In 2022, it was semi-final history, as Morocco became the first African team to reach that stage of the tournament. But France beat them to reach the World Cup final in Qatar.
After four years, history repeated itself in the quarterfinals, as Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scored in the second half to send France back to the semi-finals.
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Kylian Mbappe of France celebrates after scoring his teams first goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter final match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium on July 9, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images)
France will wait for the winner of Spain and Belgium, who will face each other on Friday at 3 pm in Los Angeles.
Like Paraguay in the round of 16 against France, Morocco focused on defence, ensuring players like Mbappé did not have easy routes to score.
It was working to start the game, although France just attacked and stayed there. However, Morocco hit the ground running when they played badly in their box and forced a penalty kick.
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Mbappé went up for the ball, but the referee was waiting for the signal to see if a VAR check was needed before a penalty was taken. The referee called it a penalty on the pitch, but Mbappé was frustrated as he had to continue his routine several times before finally getting a chance.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine “Bono” Bounou read Mbappé like a book, as the French star tried to entice him to move before his kick. But Bounou stood like a statue before pouncing to his left to keep the scoreboard quiet in the first half.
Morocco did not register their first scoring chance until half time, emphasizing France's control of the game. It felt like it was only a matter of time before Les Bleus finally broke through.
France forward Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the 2026 World Cup quarter final match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium in Foxborough on July 9, 2026. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP)
After returning to their attacking ways in the second half, they left it to Mbappé to find enough space inside the Morocco box, with defenders surrounding him, to coolly slot home Bounou for his eighth goal of the World Cup.
Mbappé is tied with Lionel Messi from Argentina earlier in this World Cup, and he also has 20 in his career. Messi, who broke the record for most goals in the World Cup at the beginning of the group stage, has reached 21.
As Morocco eventually conceded, France began to gain more space as their opponent was forced to open up in search of an equaliser. Dembélé took advantage of one of those gaps to finish.
In the 66th minute, Dembélé, using his weak right foot, kept a screamer towards Bounou's net. Although the goalkeeper of Morocco got a hand on it, he did not get enough as it crashed into the net.
At this point, France knew they had the space they needed on the board to get out of the game. Although Morocco tried, they did not succeed, and Didier Deschamps' squad once again showed how strong they can be in this World Cup as they advanced to the semi-finals.
France forward Kylian Mbappe and Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi fight for the ball during the 2026 World Cup quarter final match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium in Foxborough on July 9, 2026. (FRANK FIFE / AFP)
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France will play on July 14 at 3 pm in Dallas, where they may face a Spanish team that has not yet scored a goal in the tournament, or a Belgian team that eliminated Team USA to reach the quarterfinals.
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