Kylian Mbappe bounced back from a first half penalty miss to score one goal and provide an assist as France defeated Morocco 2-0 at Boston Stadium to book their place in the semi finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The victory sends Les Bleus into a third consecutive World Cup semi final, making them only the third nation after Germany and Brazil to achieve that feat. France have now won all six of their matches in North America and remain firmly on course for another world title.
The quarter final marked a repeat of the sides’ 2022 semi final, which France also won 2-0. Morocco, meanwhile, were hoping to become the first African nation to reach back to back World Cup semi finals.
France also handed teenage midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi another landmark appearance. At 18 years and 280 days, he became the second youngest player ever to feature in a World Cup quarter final, behind only Brazil legend Pele, who achieved the feat at 17 years and 239 days in 1958.
France made a bright start and almost took the lead inside four minutes. Mbappe forced Yassine Bounou into an excellent save with a powerful effort before the Moroccan goalkeeper denied Dayot Upamecano from the resulting corner after the defender found himself completely unmarked inside the six yard box.
Morocco defended bravely during the opening stages despite spending long periods inside their own half. Ousmane Dembele continued to ask questions down the right wing, but Morocco repeatedly threw bodies in the way to frustrate the French attack.
France earned a golden chance to break the deadlock in the 25th minute when Noussair Mazraoui clipped Mbappe inside the penalty area after the French captain had reached the ball first.
A lengthy VAR review delayed the spot kick for three minutes and 10 seconds before Mbappe finally stepped up.
Bounou guessed correctly and comfortably saved the penalty in the 28th minute to keep the scores level. The delay appeared to affect Mbappe, whose tame effort lacked conviction.
The miss was only Mbappe’s second failed penalty in 16 attempts for France. It was also the 14th penalty miss of his professional career from 78 attempts.
Bounou’s save added another remarkable achievement to his World Cup record. The Morocco goalkeeper has now saved four penalties at the tournament, the joint highest total by any goalkeeper since 1966. Across nine penalties faced at the World Cup, he has only been beaten twice, with three others missing the target completely.
Following the penalty drama, the referee called for a hydration break, during which Mbappe questioned the officials over the lengthy VAR delay.
France continued to dominate and nearly found the breakthrough in the 35th minute when Desire Doue drove forward before testing Bounou with a low strike.
The atmosphere inside Boston Stadium remained lively throughout the first half, with pop superstar Shakira spotted among the spectators as Morocco chased a famous victory over France for the first time.
Lucas Digne almost produced one of the goals of the tournament in first half stoppage time. The left back unleashed a powerful long range effort that swerved onto the crossbar with Bounou rooted to the spot.
Despite failing to score before the interval, France completely controlled the opening half. They registered 13 shots and accumulated an expected goals figure of 1.87, the highest first half total by any team that failed to score in a match at the 2026 World Cup.
Morocco showed greater attacking intent after the restart and looked more threatening going forward. Head coach Walid Ouahbi also had attacking options available, including Ayoub El Kaabi, who entered the game just one goal behind Ahmed Faras as Morocco’s all time leading scorer.
Mbappe thought he had wasted another glorious chance in the 56th minute after firing over with only Bounou to beat following brilliant work from Michael Olise. Fortunately for the France captain, the offside flag was raised moments later.
Four minutes later, Mbappe finally made his mark.
Receiving a pass from Doue just inside the penalty area, the France captain curled a superb finish beyond Bounou and into the far corner to give Les Bleus a deserved 1-0 lead.
The goal took Mbappe to 20 goals in just 20 World Cup appearances and moved him within one strike of Lionel Messi’s tally.
Morocco immediately protested for a possible handball during the build up before making two substitutions, including introducing Soufiane Rahimi.
France doubled their advantage in the 66th minute with another flowing move. Mbappe released Dembele before continuing his intelligent run, dragging defenders away and creating space for his teammate. Dembele took full advantage, curling a low effort from the edge of the area into the bottom corner. Although the finish was excellent, Bounou will feel he should have done better.
As the game entered its closing stages, another remarkable Mbappe statistic emerged. During this tournament, he became France’s all time leading scorer at the World Cup, surpassing Just Fontaine’s long standing record of 13 goals set in 1958. Fontaine also shares a connection with Morocco, having been born in Marrakech.
Morocco struggled to create clear opportunities despite their efforts. Azzedine Ounahi forced Mike Maignan into a comfortable save from distance in the 83rd minute before Hakimi’s corner found El Aynaoui, whose header flashed narrowly into the side netting.
France continued to push for a third goal. Bradley Barcola forced another save from Bounou before Jean Philippe Mateta headed over from Dembele’s corner.
Mateta also missed another late opportunity in stoppage time after Warren Zaire Emery played him through, but Bounou produced one final save to deny the striker.
The final whistle confirmed another dominant World Cup performance from Didier Deschamps side as France secured a third successive appearance in the semi finals.
With Mbappe once again leading from the front despite his early penalty miss, Les Bleus are now just two victories away from lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy once again.
