By our Correspondent
France put an end to Morocco’s fine run in the FIFA World Cup 2026 with two unreplied second half goals from Kylian Mbappe (60th minute) and Ousmane Dembele (66th minute).
Les Blues started the game with intense pressure on the Atlas Lions of Morocco, but the pressure yielded no positive result as the first half ended goalless with Mbappe squandering a penalty kick. His evidently tame spot kick was saved by Yasmine Bounou, in goal for Morocco, more or less effortlessly.
In the second half, Morocco continued to show their defensive grit and organization, but France’s attacking arsenal marshalled by Mbappe, Michael Olise, Dembele and Desire Doue, proved too much for the Moroccans. It was no surprise that they conceded two quick goals in a space of 6 minutes. Both goals were a delight to watch as Mbappe tailored a right-footed shot past Bounou, using a Moroccan defender as a decoy, while Dembele also scored with a well-placed strike.
France had over 20 attempts on goal as against Morocco’s single attempt which came via a free kick. The match statistics show that Morocco apparently had a game plan to defend, soak up the pressure and possibly punish France with quick counter-attacks, but this plan never materialized. They were repelled by the defensive trio of Saliba, Upamecano and Kounde.
With this result, France has qualified for the semi-finals and will face the winner of Spain Vs Belgium tie, in Dallas, United States on Tuesday, July 14.
Morocco, though fell short of their semi-final feat in the 2022 edition of the World Cup in Qatar, exits this year’s edition with their heads held high, having lost to one of the tournament’s favourites.
The Atlas Lions were the only African country to reach the quarter finals of this year’s tournament being co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States. They also lost to France in the semi-finals in Qatar 2022, making this defeat the second consecutive time they would be stopped in their tracks by France in a World Cup finals tournament.