France booked their spot in the World Cup semifinals with a 2-0 victory over Morocco in a quarterfinal clash in Boston on Thursday, powered by second-half goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, though the former left the game with an apparent injury. Mbappe departed in the 77th minute, requesting a sub as the sat on the ground for a couple of minutes. He waved to fans as he walked off the field with France medical staff and was later seen icing his right ankle on the bench during the game's final minutes.
After the match, France coach Didier Deschamps said it was indeed an ankle injury and that he was a little sore, but he did not seem to be concerned about the player's availability for the semifinals, where they'll play on Tuesday at 3 p.m., giving him up to five days of potential rest.
The breakthrough in this game looked like it would come earlier as Mbappe was awarded a first-half penalty after a lengthy VAR review, but Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou guessed correctly after Mbappe had to wait over three minutes to take it, denying the France captain from the spot, keeping the match scoreless at the break.
Mbappe made amends after the restart, curling a brilliant effort around Issa Diop and into the far side of the goal, just inside the post, in the 60th minute to finally give Les Bleus the lead, scoring his 20th World Cup goal in the process. Dembele doubled the advantage six minutes later with a driving run and low finish that squeezed past Bounou.
With the win, France will play in the semis next week where they will face either Spain or Belgium. The French have become the third team ever to make it to three straight World Cup semifinals, joining Brazil and Germany.
90' We have our first semifinalist! France defeat Morocco 2-0 thanks to second-half goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele to book their place in the last four. Les Bleus will now face the winner of Friday's quarterfinal between Spain and Belgium. Once again, France showed why they are widely considered the favorites to lift the World Cup trophy.
On top of what Chuck just pointed out, here's a look at Mbappe's ankle as it was shown on the TV broadcast:
There's worry for France as in the 78th minute of their quarterfinal match against Morocco, Kylian Mbappe left the pitch with an injury. Going down with a non-contact injury, it was a strange moment, but immediately, Didier Deschamps substituted out his star man. Mbappe gestured and waved to the crowd and went to the bench instead of the locker room, so the substitution may have been a precautionary one, but missing any time would be quite a concern for the French national team. He could be seen with an ice pack on his right ankle while on the bench.
Mbappe has been their driving force during this World Cup, scoring eight goals as he and Lionel Messi continue to duel for the Golden Boot at the tournament, and he's become the first player ever with eight goals in back-to-back World Cups, so any issues would be concerning. Being that he's still on the bench, we'll need to see what is said following the match.
77' France are forced into a change as Mbappe makes way for Barcola after appearing to pick up an injury. The France captain signaled to the bench that he couldn't continue, asking for the substitution. It doesn't appear to be anything too serious, though it's still unclear exactly when or how the injury occurred.
65' And this is it! France score another one with Ousmane Dembele, the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner! The PSG striker finds some space in the attack and his shot is only deflected by Bono. Looks like we have one of the four semifinalists...
59' Mbappe scores a stunner! It's 1-0 for France. What a finish from Mbappe! The France captain fired an unstoppable shot into the far corner, giving Bono absolutely no chance. It's his eighth goal of the tournament, drawing level with Lionel Messi at the top of the World Cup scoring charts.
55' Morocco made a positive start to the second half, showing much more intent in possession. However, it was France who created the first real chance after the break, with Michael Olise picking out Kylian Mbappe between the lines. The Real Madrid forward looked set to test Bono, but the offside flag went up.
45' It's goalless at the break, but France have been firmly in control of the first 45 minutes. Les Bleus created at least five clear-cut chances to break the deadlock, including a penalty that Kylian Mbappe failed to convert. Just before halftime, Lucas Digne came within inches of scoring with a powerful strike from outside the box that crashed against the crossbar. Morocco have held on, thanks largely to Bono's outstanding performance in goal.
34' Another chance for Doue, and another excellent save from Bono. The French forward found space inside the box, but his effort was kept out by the Moroccan goalkeeper, who continues to deny France the opening goal.
27' Mbappe missed it: Not a great penalty by Mbappe and Bono saved it! After Lionel Messi, another superstar of this World Cup misses a penalty.
25' The game can change now: Penalty for France after a foul on Mbappe from Mazraoui...
23' The opening minutes of the first half are behind us, and after France's dominant start, Morocco have begun to settle into the game and look much more organized. Les Bleus continue to control possession, but they haven't managed to create any clear-cut chances since those early opportunities.
5' France have already created two big chances to break the deadlock. First, Mbappe fired wide from a promising position, before Upamecano's powerful header was brilliantly saved by Bono. Morocco are under early pressure.
Both teams are out on the pitch. It's time for the national anthems, and then we'll be underway for this World Cup quarterfinal!
The two nations last met at the 2022 World Cup semifinal in Qatar, where France won 2-0 with goals by Randal Kolo Muani and Theo Hernandez. Formerly coached by Walid Regragui, that Moroccan side became the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal. With some newer pieces in the mix for 2026, the two time quarterfinalits will aim for more history, to reach a second semifinal, and potentially more. France beat Morocco in the 2022 semifinal, but Kylian Mbappe was not on the scoresheet. With another opportunity in front of him, and after losing to Argentina in the 2022 final on penalties, he'll be a dangerous player to mark.
Coached by Ouahbi, Morocco's journey has been a roller coaster for neutrals watching. The Atlas Lions opened group play with an impressive 1-1 draw against Brazil, going toe-to-toe, with forward Ismael Saibari opening his World Cup goalscoring. They later picked up wins against Haiti and Scotland and earned second place in Group C.
Their round of 32 game against the Netherlands, they scored a stoppage-time equalizer to force extra time and were triumphant in penalties. Their round of 16 match against tournament co-hosts Canada was a 3-0 blowout, thanks to goals by Azzedine Ounahi.
France's path to the quarterfinals has been less dramatic but more of a masterclass. Les Bleus opened their tournament with a 3-1 victory against Senegal, followed by a dominant 3-0 win over Iraq and a 4-1 dismantling of a heavily rotated Norway, to win first place in Group I.
Manager Didier Deschamps and the squad steamrolled Sweden 3-0, and Kylian Mbappe scored his fifth and sixth goals of the tournament. Mbappe extended his Golden Boot run with a seventh goal, a penalty kick, against Paraguay in the round of 16 victory.
While Morocco are back in the World Cup quarterfinals, they will be without a key player. A hamstring injury for Saibari will keep the forward out of the match against France. The 25-year-old forward picked up the injury during the round of 16 match against Canada in the 22nd minute. Saibari scored in each of Morocco's three group games and converted the winning penalty against the Netherlands.
Saibari's rise in the competition has been an extra boost for Morocco and has led to a move to Bayern Munich. He will be with the Bavarian side through 2031. It's a huge loss for the Atlas Lions as Saibari leads the team in goals (three) and made history during the tournament. He scored the fastest goal in World Cup history, a strike against Scotland just 71 seconds into the game.
Let's take a look at the starting lineups:
France XI: Mike Maignan; Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Koné, Adrien Rabiot; Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Desire Doue; Kylian Mbappé.
Morocco XI: Yassine Bono; Achraf Hakimi, Bamo Meité Diop, Zakaria Salah-Eddine, Noussair Mazraoui; Ayyoub Bouaddi, Neil El Aynaoui; Brahim Díaz, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El Khannouss; Chemsdine Talbi.
The quarter finals are finally here! France takes on Morocco in one of the most anticipated matches of the World Cup, a rematch of the unforgettable 2022 semifinal that saw France come out on top. I'm Francesco Porzio, and we're underway!
Date: Thursday, July 9 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Gillette Stadium -- Foxborough, Massachusetts
TV: FOX (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: France -174; Draw +208; Morocco +506
