Kylian Mbappe scored one goal and created another as France defeated Morocco 2-0 to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the third successive tournament.
The France captain endured a frustrating first half in Boston, where his penalty was saved by Yassine Bounou. However, he responded after the interval with his eighth goal of the competition before setting up Ousmane Dembele to seal a convincing victory.
France will now face either Spain or Belgium in Tuesday’s semi-final in Dallas as they continue their bid to appear in a third consecutive World Cup final.
Didier Deschamps’ side controlled the quarter-final from the opening stages and finished with 21 attempts, compared with only four from Morocco. The Atlas Lions managed just one shot on target and rarely troubled the French defence.
Mbappe registered the first attempt of the game in the fourth minute, sending a shot narrowly wide. He was then presented with an opportunity to open the scoring after Noussair Mazraoui brought him down inside the penalty area in the 25th minute.
A lengthy video review delayed the spot-kick, but the decision was upheld. Mbappe eventually stepped forward three minutes later, only for Bounou to read his intentions and save the low effort.
The miss did little to change the direction of the contest. France continued to dominate possession in dangerous areas and produced 13 attempts during the first half, although Morocco’s disciplined defensive shape kept the game goalless.
Morocco’s best opening before the break arrived through Achraf Hakimi, whose free-kick from just outside the box travelled wide of the post.
France finally broke the resistance on the hour mark. After Morocco failed to clear the danger, Mbappe collected possession outside the penalty area, advanced towards goal and curled a composed finish inside the far post.
It was his eighth goal of the tournament and the 20th of his World Cup career, achieved in his 20th appearance at the competition. The 27-year-old is now one goal behind Lionel Messi’s career total at World Cup finals.
France needed only six more minutes to double their advantage. Mbappe received the ball in the final third and laid it back into the path of Dembele. His continued run dragged defenders away and created space for the winger, who drove a low shot past Bounou for his fifth goal of the tournament.
Morocco were unable to produce a meaningful response, while France comfortably managed the closing stages. The result repeated the scoreline from the countries’ 2022 World Cup semi-final, when Les Bleus also ended Morocco’s historic campaign with a 2-0 victory.
There was a late concern when Mbappe went down following a blow to his right ankle and was substituted in the 77th minute. He was pictured with an ice pack on the injury, but later joined his teammates in their post-match celebrations and said the problem was not serious.
France have now reached at least the semi-finals in four of the past five World Cups. They are also attempting to become only the third country, after Brazil and West Germany, to appear in three consecutive finals.
Morocco’s tournament ends in the last eight despite another impressive campaign. They were without influential midfielder Ismael Saibari because of a hamstring injury and struggled to match the attacking quality and intensity of a France side that remains firmly on course to challenge for a third world title.