Guwahati: France booked their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Morocco in the quarter-finals, powered by second-half goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé.
After missing a first-half penalty, Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 60th minute with a curling strike from the edge of the box. Dembélé doubled France’s advantage six minutes later, finishing off a swift attacking move to seal the win.
The 2018 world champions will face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals.
France dominated proceedings throughout but were denied an early lead when Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved Mbappé’s penalty in the 28th minute. The spot-kick was awarded after the forward was fouled by Noussair Mazraoui, though the attempt was delayed following a lengthy VAR review.
Morocco struggled to create clear chances and failed to test France goalkeeper Mike Maignan until the 83rd minute, when Azzedine Ounahi’s free-kick was comfortably saved.
Despite Bounou’s impressive performance in goal, Morocco could not withstand France’s sustained pressure in the second half as Didier Deschamps’ side secured a comfortable victory to remain on course for another World Cup final appearance.