World Cup 2026: France ease past Morocco 2-0 into semi-finals

Mbappe's redemption seals a routine 2-0

France are through to the World Cup 2026 semi-finals. They beat Morocco 2-0 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, on a cloudy, sweltering afternoon that hovered around 30 degrees, and they did it with room to spare.

The scoreline flatters no one. France produced 3.04 expected goals (xG, a measure of chance quality) to Morocco's 0.14, and mustered eight shots on target against one. Morocco actually held slightly more of the ball — 52% to 48% — but did almost nothing with it, creating no big chances all afternoon. Facundo Tello Figueroa of Argentina had a tidy match to referee once the game settled.

It might have been simpler still. Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty in the first half, which for a while lent the contest a flicker of doubt. That doubt did not survive the hour mark.

The XIs that lined up in Foxborough

From a missed spot-kick to a six-minute burst

The first act belonged to a moment that didn't count. On 28 minutes France were awarded a penalty and Mbappe stepped up, only to miss it. Morocco kept the game goalless to the interval and could reasonably have fancied their chances of frustrating the favourites.

The second half told a different story. On the hour Mbappe atoned, finishing off a Désiré Doué pass to make it 1-0. The response from Morocco's bench was immediate — a double change moments later — but France pressed the advantage rather than sat on it. Ismaël Diop was booked, and within a couple of minutes Mbappe turned provider, teeing up Ousmane Dembélé for a second on 66 minutes. Two goals in six minutes, and the tie was effectively done.

From there Didier Deschamps managed the finish, withdrawing Mbappe and Doué with the game safe and rotating through the closing stages. Morocco kept probing but never troubled the France goalkeeper, who was called upon just once all match.

The community backed France — but not the clean sheet

The futbol.so community leaned towards France, and that instinct proved sound. The most popular scoreline was France 2 - Morocco 1, which got the winner and the margin roughly right while giving Morocco a goal they never found. The official model was the closest of all, calling France 2 - Morocco 0 exactly and rating a French win comfortably the likeliest outcome.

Broken down by country, France's fans in Argentina and Austria also tilted towards Les Bleus with the same 2-1 read. The interesting outlier was Colombia, where opinion was split and the most-chosen result had Morocco edging it 1-0 — a scenario that never looked likely once the second half began.

Video highlights

FIFA WC 2026 | France - Morocco 2:0 | (četvrtfinale ) | 09.07.2026.

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Post-Match Press Conference: Morocco's Mohamed Ouahbi On 2-0 Loss To France

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TWO GOALS IN SIX MINS! Ousmane Dembélé extends France's lead | France v Morocco

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France v Morocco - Full Post-Match | Keane, Vieira & Wright Speak

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HIGHLIGHTS - France v Morocco | Mbappé Chasing Golden Boot | FIFA World Cup 2026

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"Tristes, déçus et frustrés..." - La RÉACTION d'AYYOUB BOUADDI après FRANCE - MAROC

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France 🆚 Morocco #FIFAWorldCupOnYT

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MBAPPÉ s'exprime sur son ÉTAT DE SANTÉ après FRANCE - MAROC !

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‘The BEST FRENCH TEAM EVER!’ 😳 Frank Leboeuf on France’s 2-0 win vs. Morocco | ESPN FC

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World Cup: France vs Morocco

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World Cup: France vs Morocco

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France VS Morocco

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France march on. Their semi-final is set for 14 July, against the winner of Spain versus Belgium — an opponent not yet decided, so both remain in play. On this evidence, whoever emerges will need a good deal more than Morocco managed to trouble them.