Mbappe, Dembele fire France into FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinals, beat Morocco 2-0
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Mbappe, Dembele fire France into FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinals, beat Morocco 2-0")
Mbappe, Dembele fire France into FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinals, beat Morocco 2-0 Photograph: (AFP)
France beat Morocco 2-0 as Mbappe and Dembele scored to send the defending champions into the 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinals
Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele delivered the decisive moments as France defeated Morocco 2-0 to secure their place in the FIFA World Cup semifinals on Thursday. Mbappe opened the scoring with his eighth goal of the tournament in the 60th minute before Dembele added a second six minutes later, sealing a comfortable victory for the 2018 champions at Gillette Stadium outside Boston.
The result sends Didier Deschamps' side into a last-four clash against either Spain or Belgium in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. Morocco entered the match with confidence after becoming one of the tournament's biggest surprises, with many expecting the African champions to challenge France's hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final. However, France controlled proceedings throughout, limiting Morocco's attacking threat. The North African side failed to record a shot on target until the 83rd minute when Azzedine Ounahi's free-kick forced France goalkeeper Mike Maignan into a save.
Despite dominating possession and territory, France had to wait for their breakthrough. Their best early opportunity came in the 28th minute when Mbappe's penalty was saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Mbappe had earned the spot-kick after being brought down by Noussair Mazraoui, but the forward had to wait several minutes before taking the penalty due to an extended VAR review. Morocco managed to stay level until half-time, but France's continued pressure eventually proved too much. The opening goal arrived in the 60th minute when Mbappe produced a brilliant finish from the edge of the box, curling a right-footed effort beyond Bounou.
Dembele then put the game beyond doubt in the 66th minute. The Paris Saint-Germain forward collected the ball in midfield, drove forward and calmly guided a low shot into the bottom corner. France will now wait for the winner of the Spain vs Belgium quarter-final in Los Angeles to determine their semifinal opponent.
Referee chief defends FIFA officials
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Spain, who are yet to concede a goal in the tournament, advanced after eliminating Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the last 16 and will face Belgium, who reached the quarterfinals after a dominant 4-1 victory over the United States. Meanwhile, Argentina will meet Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday after a dramatic comeback against Egypt in the previous round.
The reigning champions found themselves 2-0 down before recovering to win 3-2 and advance. Several refereeing decisions during the match sparked criticism, with Egypt coach Hossam Hassan suggesting World Cup officials were favouring Argentina due to external' pressure. FIFA referees chief Pierluigi Collina rejected those claims and defended the integrity of match officials.
"Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials," Collina said. "Nobody can claim that FIFA Refereeing can be influenced by anyone ..."
The winner of Argentina's clash with Switzerland will face either Norway or England in the semifinals. England face a difficult quarter-final challenge against Norway, with their defence preparing to deal with Erling Haaland, who has been one of the tournament's standout performers. Haaland, however, believes the pressure will be on England when the teams meet at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. "I think there's some clear favourites out there, England's one of them," Haaland told reporters. "I think all of you should put every single pressure on the English lads."
