2026 FIFA World Cup – Quarter-final
France 2-0 Morocco
Atlanta, United States: The Les Bleus of France booked their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-finals with a commanding 2-0 victory over Morocco on Thursday, becoming only the third nation in tournament history to reach the last four at three consecutive World Cups.
Goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé in the second half sealed victory for the 2018 champions, who will now face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals.
The achievement means France have reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, 2022 and 2026, joining only Brazil (1994–2002) and Germany (1982–1990 and 2002–2014) in accomplishing the feat.
France controlled possession for much of the contest and consistently threatened the Moroccan defence, although goalkeeper Yassine Bono produced a series of impressive saves to keep the Atlas Lions in the match.
The French had an opportunity to break the deadlock before halftime after Mbappé won a penalty when he was brought down inside the area by Noussair Mazraoui.
However, Bono guessed correctly to deny the Real Madrid forward from the spot.
Mbappé made amends in the 60th minute, finding space on the edge of the penalty area before driving a low effort beyond Bono to give France a deserved lead.
Morocco responded by pushing more players forward in search of an equaliser, but France capitalised on the additional space.
Just six minutes later, Dembélé unleashed a superb strike from outside the penalty area to double France’s advantage and effectively seal the contest.
Key Stats
- France reach a third consecutive FIFA World Cup semi-final (2018, 2022, 2026).
- Only Brazil and Germany have previously achieved three successive World Cup semi-final appearances.
- Mbappé missed a first-half penalty before opening the scoring.
- Morocco’s Yassine Bono saved a penalty and made several crucial stops.
The Atlas Lions struggled to create clear-cut opportunities against a disciplined French backline, with goalkeeper Mike Maignan largely untroubled until late in the second half.
Despite pressing forward in the closing stages, Morocco failed to find a breakthrough as France comfortably saw out the victory.
France will now face the winner of Friday night’s quarter-final between Spain and Belgium, scheduled for 10:00 p.m. East African Time in Los Angeles.
Spain head into that encounter boasting the tournament’s best defensive record after conceding just 1.49 expected goals (xG) throughout the competition. They reached the quarter-finals courtesy of Mikel Merino’s stoppage-time winner against Portugal.
Belgium, meanwhile, secured their place in the last eight by eliminating co-hosts the United States.
Elsewhere, the tournament’s dark horses of Norway will take on England in Miami on Saturday, while defending champions Argentina face Switzerland in Kansas City on Sunday.
Norway will once again look to Erling Haaland, who has inspired the Scandinavian nation’s historic run to its first-ever World Cup quarter-final.
England, meanwhile, will be without the injured Reece James, suspended defender Jarell Quansah, and experienced midfielder Jordan Henderson.
Argentina will seek another victory after recovering from two goals down to defeat Egypt 3-2 in the Round of 16, while Switzerland are chasing their maiden FIFA World Cup semi-final appearance after knocking out Colombia in a penalty shootout.
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