France 2-0 Morocco: Mbappé Stars as Les Bleus Reach World Cup 2026 Semifinals
France advanced to the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinals with a professional 2-0 victory over Morocco on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring in the 60th minute with a brilliant strike, just minutes after missing a first-half penalty. Ousmane Dembélé added a second goal six minutes later to secure the win and send France into the final four.
Match Summary
France 2-0 Morocco
Goals: Kylian Mbappé (60'), Ousmane Dembélé (66')
France v Morocco Match Stats
France showed strong tactical control and clinical finishing throughout the quarterfinal:
Shots: France 22 (9 on target) vs Morocco 5 (1 on target)
Possession: Morocco 52% – France 48%
Passing Accuracy: France 92% vs Morocco 88%
Saves: Morocco’s Yassine Bounou made 8 saves, including a vital penalty stop against Mbappé in the first half.
Historic Milestones from the France 2-0 Morocco Match, Stats, Facts, Records
Kylian Mbappé reached 20 career World Cup goals, moving within one of Lionel Messi’s record. He also extended his personal record for most knockout-stage goals in World Cup history to 11.
Didier Deschamps coached his 25th World Cup match, equalling the all-time record held by Germany’s Helmut Schön.
France qualified for their third consecutive World Cup semifinal, a remarkable achievement in modern international football.
France will now play in their eighth FIFA World Cup semi-final, equalling Brazil, with only Germany (12) qualifying for more.
Across the last two FIFA World Cup tournaments, Morocco have suffered just two defeats to nil, and both have been 2-0 losses to France (2022 semi-final, 2026 quarter-final).
In Kylian Mbappé (8) and Ousmane Dembélé (5), France are only the second side in the last 50 years to have two players score 5+ goals at the same FIFA World Cup tournament, after Brazil in 2002 (Ronaldo 8, Rivaldo 5).
France earned their 20th FIFA World Cup win under Didier Deschamps – making him the first manager to oversee 20 wins at the finals. This was his 25th World Cup match in charge overall, equalling Helmut Schön’s record.
African nations have been eliminated from four of their five FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, the only exception being Morocco’s 1-0 win over Portugal in 2022.
Kylian Mbappé has now registered 10+ goal involvements in both of the last two FIFA World Cups (8 goals, 2 assists in 2022, 8 goals 3 assists in 2026) – he’s only the only player on record (since 1966) to achieve this in two different tournaments. His 11 in 2026 are the most by a single player since Gerd Müller in 1970 (10 goals, 3 assists).
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou has saved four FIFA World Cup penalties (incl. shootouts), the joint-most of any goalkeeper on record (from 1966 – 5 others on 4 saves). Indeed, Bounou has faced nine penalties at the finals, and just two of those have been scored (4 saves, 3 missed target).
Head-to-Head Update
France now leads the historical record against Morocco with 5 wins from 7 meetings. Morocco’s only victory came via a penalty shootout in a 1998 friendly.Morocco’s campaign ended with disappointment as they missed their star forward Ismael Saibari due to a severe hamstring injury.
France will now face the winner of Spain vs Belgium in the semifinals as they chase a second World Cup title in four tournaments.
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