Kylian Mbappé overcame a first-half penalty miss to inspire France to a 2-0 victory over Morocco, securing a spot in their third consecutive FIFA World Cup™ semi-final.

The French captain rebounded from his spot-kick disappointment to net his eighth goal of the tournament before setting up Ousmane Dembélé to seal the win at Boston Stadium in Foxborough. The two-time world champions will now face either Belgium or Spain in the last four.

Match Report: Bleus Breakthrough in Foxborough

France asserted dominance early in the quarter-final clash. Just five minutes into the game, defender Dayot Upamecano rose highest to meet a corner, but his powerful header went straight into the arms of Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

Les Bleus continued to dictate possession and looked certain to break the deadlock when Noussair Mazraoui brought down Mbappé inside the penalty area. The French talisman stepped up to take the resulting penalty, but Bounou guessed correctly, producing a brilliant save to keep the Atlas Lions level heading into the halftime interval.

The breakthrough finally arrived on the hour mark. Mbappé picked up the ball on the edge of the area and curled a sublime, trademark finish into the far corner. Just six minutes later, the tournament’s top scorer turned provider, slipping a perfectly weighted pass to Ousmane Dembélé, who calmly slotted a low finish into the bottom corner.

Didier Deschamps’ side comfortably managed the final phases of the match, keeping a clean sheet and continuing their historic run following their 2018 title and 2022 runners-up finish.

Key Match Statistics

• The Race for the Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappé has found the net in five of France’s six matches at the 2026 tournament, cementing his lead in the adidas Golden Boot standings.
• Chasing History: Mbappé has now scored 20 career World Cup goals, trailing only Lionel Messi (21) on the all-time list.
• Elite Company: Ousmane Dembélé scored his fifth goal of the tournament, becoming only the third French player in history to score 5+ goals in a single World Cup edition, alongside Mbappé and Just Fontaine.
• Teenage Milestone: At 18 years and 280 days old, Morocco’s Ayyoub Bouaddi became the first teenager to make five World Cup appearances for an African nation.