France secured their place in the 2026 World Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Morocco on July 9 at Gillette Stadium in Boston. Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele scored second-half goals to send the 2018 champions through.
France control game despite early penalty miss
Mbappe opened the scoring in the 60th minute with his eighth goal of the tournament, curling a right-foot shot past Yassine Bounou. Dembele added the second six minutes later, finishing low into the corner after a driving run from midfield.
Morocco, the African champions, failed to test France goalkeeper Mike Maignan until an 83rd-minute free-kick by Azzedine Ounahi was saved. Earlier, Mbappe had a 28th-minute penalty saved by Bounou after a VAR review confirmed a foul by Noussair Mazraoui.
Next: Semi-final against Spain or Belgium
France will face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals in Arlington, Texas, on July 6. Spain, unbeaten and yet to concede a goal, eliminated Portugal in the last 16, while Belgium defeated the United States 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere in the World Cup
Holders Argentina play Switzerland in Kansas City on July 10, having survived a last-16 scare against Egypt. The South Americans overcame a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2, though Egypt’s coach later alleged refereeing bias—a claim FIFA’s Pierluigi Collina dismissed, stating: “Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials.”
The Argentina-Switzerland winner will meet either Norway or England, who play in Miami on July 10. Norway striker Erling Haaland, in top form, said the pressure would be on England: “I think all of you should put every single pressure on the English lads.”
