World Cup 2026: Ousmane Dembélé, Kylian Mbappé send France to semifinals (photos)

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FOXBOROUGH - After 60 minutes of frustrating play for France and stifling defense from Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals, Kylian Mbappé broke the game open.

The French captain’s goal in the 60th was followed by a second six minutes later in the 2-0 win for France, which heads to the World Cup semifinals for the third consecutive tournament.


In the semifinals, France will play the winner of Belgium and Spain on July 14 at 3 p.m. in Arlington, Texas.


Belgium and Spain face off on Friday at 3 p.m. in Los Angeles.

France breaks the seal in the 60th​

To break the scoreless tie, Mbappé placed a perfect shot into the right side of the net after cutting in from the left.

The score was Mbappé’s eighth of the World Cup, tying Lionel Messi for the tournament lead.

Before the goal, France had 15 shots and four on target but no goals through 60 minutes.

After it, Les Bleus began to break down the Atlas Lions. In the 66th, Ousmane Dembélé made it 2-0 for France thanks to an assist from Mbappé.

Mbappé iced on early pen​

In the 25th minute, Mbappé drew and was set up to take a penalty for France. An extended video review delayed the actual taking of the penalty by over three minutes.

After waiting at the spot, Mbappé stuttered in his run-up and eventually struck the ball on the ground to the right side of the net. With plenty of time of his own, Morocco’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was there to make the stop, one of three saves he had in the opening half.

Morocco attack forced to experiment​

One of the biggest injuries of the tournament was Morocco striker Ismael Saibari’s hamstring in the Round of 16 against Canada. Saibari had to leave that contest after 22 minutes and did not play for Morocco against France.


Without Saibari, the Atlas Lions had to be more creative with their attack. Focusing mostly on counter play, Morocco cycled between trying to spring Brahim Díaz, Bilal El Khannouss and Achraf Hakimi up top.

The fluidity of the formation created a few dangerous looks, but for much of the match, the French defense was too quick in its recovery for Morocco to muster a true threat.

In the first half, France tallied 16 touches in the attacking box compared to just one for Morocco.

Cards:​

Morocco’s Issa Diop picked up the first yellow card of the match in the 63rd minute after taking down Mbappé.

More World Cup 2026 Coverage​

• Former Celtics star Jaylen Brown among celebrities at World Cup in Foxborough
• France vs. Morocco at Gillette Stadium - Where to buy last-minute World Cup tickets
• France vs. Morocco Quarterfinals World Cup match free live stream - How to watch today
• USMNT star forward suffered leg injury in Round of 16 loss to Belgium

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