3 min readUpdated: Jul 10, 2026 04:04 AM IST
Goals by Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele helped France cruise to a 2-0 win over Morocco in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal at the Gillette Stadium in Boston. Mbappe scored in the 60th minute while and then provided the assist just six minutes later as Dembele doubled France’s lead.
While Morocco had nearly as much of the ball as France for much of the game, the same couldn’t be said about the impact at the other end. France always looked far more likely to score and Morocco even got a let off when Mbappe failed to convert a penalty in the 28th minute. Noussair Mazraoui brought Mbappe down in the box when it had looked like the French captain was all set to score in the 25th minute of the match. Mazraoui had no complaints at all when the referee pointed to the spot for the penalty, neither did any of his Moroccan teammates. Strangely enough, though, there was a long and arduous stoppage in the game as the video assistant referee (VAR) checked the call. The check went on for more than three minutes and when Mbappe could finally take the kick, it was a rather tame one that Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved with ease.
AS IT HAPPENED | France vs Morocco, FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal
Overall, that was pretty much the only event of note in a rather flat first half. France had as many as 13 shots but only three of those were on target. Morocco, on the other hand, made one attempt at goal that wasn’t even on target.
The Moroccans made a far more positive start to the second half. However, just as it started looking like Morocco could be frustrating France, Les Bleus managed to find a goal. Desire Doue found Mbappe on the left-hand side of the D. He took a touch to get inside the box and let rip a curler to the far side. It beat Bounou and France were 1-0 ahead.
Just six minutes later, Mbappe turned provider, although Dembele did have a lot to do before scoring. The France captain received the ball around the centre circle inside the Moroccan half from Michael Olise and he worked it to his left to Dembele. The PSG man was given enough space to advance right to the edge of the D from where he let loose a shot. This time, Bounou managed to get a palm to it but the ball still went behind and into goal.
The closest Morocco came to a goal after that was when France centre back Dayot Upamecano fluffed an attempted clearance and almost chipped it right over his own goalkeeper Mike Maignan. The ball safely went over the bar for a corner which, fortunately for Upamecano, came to nothing. France, chasing a third World Cup title, will now face the winner of the quarterfinal between Spain and Belgium which will take place on Friday (Saturday 12.30am IST).
