Kylian Mbappé led France past Morocco 2-0 in Foxborough on Thursday. The French captain recovered from a saved penalty to score and set up Ousmane Dembélé for a second. This is the third consecutive World Cup semi-final for France.
Kylian Mbappé led France past Morocco 2-0 in Foxborough on Thursday. The French captain recovered from a saved penalty to score and set up Ousmane Dembélé for a second. This is the third consecutive World Cup semi-final for France.
France took charge from the first whistle and pinned Morocco back, but the wall held.
The clearest opening arrived in the 25th minute, when Noussair Mazraoui brought down Mbappé in the box. After a long review, Mbappé took the penalty, but his effort was tame, straight at the middle of the goal, and Yassine Bounou smothered it. The first half ended 0-0.
The breakthrough came on the hour. Mbappé took a pass from Désiré Doué and curled a shot beyond Bounou. Six minutes later he drove at Morocco's defence and slipped in Ousmane Dembélé, who finished low for 2-0.
Les Bleus had a scare in the 77th minute when Mbappé asked for a substitution because of a right-ankle knock. Fortunately for France, the injury wasn't serious. "I'm completely fine," the French captain said, having watched the closing stages with ice taped around the joint.
The numbers underline France's control. Les Bleus finished with a 21-4 advantage in shots and an 8-1 edge on target, outshooting Morocco 13-1 in the first half alone. Azzedine Ounahi's 83rd-minute strike, saved by Mike Maignan, was Morocco's only shot on target all evening.
Didier Deschamps insisted his side never wavered. "We lacked efficiency and had this penalty saved in the first half, several chances, but there was never any doubt, especially not Kylian," the coach said. "We suffocated them and made them run. Then they were just tired."
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi accepted his team were second best. "We have to recognise that they're a great team. They have excellent players and had better goal-scoring opportunities. We lacked ideas and freshness," he said. "We have to accept this defeat."
Dembélé, whose goal was his fifth of the tournament, praised the group's composure. "We knew Morocco would be difficult because they have quality players, but we stayed focused throughout the match," he said.
Mbappé's eighth goal moved him level with Lionel Messi at the top of this year's scoring charts. The missed penalty prevented him from taking the lead in the race for the Golden Boot. "I took it, and he saved it. I didn't take it well," Mbappé said, blaming the drawn-out VAR check. "That's modern football with VAR and we have to adapt."
The result repeated the 2-0 France won against Morocco in their 2022 semi-final in Qatar. Deschamps, who steps down after the tournament, has now guided France to the last four of a major tournament five times since 2012.
France meet the winner of Spain against Belgium in Dallas, on July 14 - France National Day.
Morocco, co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal, turn their attention to Africa Cup of Nations qualification. "We are on the right path," Ouahbi said.
