France erased Morocco from the pitch on Thursday afternoon, decidedly winning 2–0 to become the first semifinalist of the 2026 World Cup. The 2022 finalist dominated a Morocco side that looked overly cautious from the start, clearly intimidated by the might of Les Bleus’ attack. Still, Didier Deschamps’s side was able to create a number of clear chances it failed to capitalize on, including a Kylian Mbappé penalty miss. Incredibly, the game remained scoreless at the break. But Les Bleus’ dominance resumed after the break and finally, Mbappé righted his wrongs and scored a sensational opener at the hour-mark that sent his side on its way. Ousmane Dembélé added a second six minutes later with a fine strike and the game was decided in an instant. It took France a while to translate its superiority to the scoresheet, but it was yet another intimidating performance from a simply sensational team. France are now 90 minutes away from a third consecutive World Cup final, with a meeting against Belgium or Spain in the semifinals in Dallas on Tuesday up next. Villain Turned HeroKylian Mbappé broke the deadlock for France against Morocco. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedOne of the main protagonists of the 2026 World Cup was the main character of the quarterfinal bout at Gillette Stadium. Mbappé had a rollercoaster afternoon, but eventually was once again the the biggest difference-maker.The Real Madrid forward was involved early and often, looking menacing from the jump as has been the case all tournament. Finally in one of France’s first transitions of the game, Mbappé entered the box, settled for a second, and used his simply ridiculous acceleration to get away from Noussair Mazraoui after an electric step over. The Manchester United defender then committed to a challenge as a last-ditch effort to stop the Frenchman, but he didn’t get the ball and instead clipped his leg, leading to a penalty. The usually clinical Mbappé was subject to a lengthy VAR review. It’s unknown if the long wait affected him, but he proceeded to fire a weak, poorly placed shot that Yassine Bounou had no trouble collecting without giving a rebound. One of the worst-taken penalties of Mbappé’s career meant France was unable to take the lead. As a result, Morocco was able to stick to its original game plan of building a seemingly impenetrable low-block. France was unable to break the deadlock and frustration increased as minutes ticked on. Then, Mbappé appeared to finally solve the difficult Morocco equation. Mbappé received a ball near the edge of the penalty area and with four defenders around him he curled a simply majestic shot into the far post to bag his eighth goal of the 2026 World Cup—going level with Lionel Messi atop the Golden Boot race. A game that was growing increasingly stuck for France was decided by the latest Mbappé magic trick, redeeming himself for his earlier miss in the process. Morocco was forced to deviate from its plan to search from an equalizer, leaving space behind that Les Bleus used to double its lead shortly after. WIN FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ FINAL TICKETS & OTHER PRIZESCompete against the world. | Sports IllustratedFrance Player Ratings vs. Morocco (4-2-3-1)France were in jubilant mood for good reason. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated*Ratings Provided by FotMob*GK: Mike Maignan—7.5: Another spectator for the vast majority of the afternoon. Didn’t face a single shot on goal until the 82nd minute. RB: Jules Koundé—7.5: Quietly went about his task of protecting France’s right flank. Didn’t put a foot wrong defensively and didn’t misplace a single pass all game. CB: Dayot Upamecano—7.4: Missed a clear header inside the six-yard box in an action he probably wished he’d have back. He handled his primary task of defending well but not without producing a few scares, as is often the case with him. CB: William Saliba—7.3: Barely had to break a sweat because of Morocco’s practically non-existent attacking threat.LB: Lucas Digne—7.7: More than held his own containing the most dangerous side of Morocco’s attack headlined by Brahim Díaz and Achraf Hakimi. The crossbar denied him from scoring an absolute screamer late in the first half. CM: Manu Koné—7.5: Settled for the easy pass in possession but tirelessly covered ground and recovered the ball near the halfway line for Les Bleus to begin its build-up inside Moroco’s half regularly. CM: Adrien Rabiot—7.7: Essential for France’s press—highlighted by him winning in the air to start the action of Mbappé’s opener. Constantly pressed forward and, like his partner in midfield, helped his side start possessions inside Morocco’s half. RW: Ousmane Dembélé—8.3: Had been held in check most of the game but came alive late. The first action he was able to receive centrally and with space, he converted into fifth goal of the tournament. AM: Michael Olise—7.8: Had a couple of bursts where he either got away from defenders to set up a teammate or directed transitions—including the one that led to Mbappé’s penalty. Yet, there were long stretches in which the ball didn’t find him given he was very closely guarded by Morocco markers. LW: Désiré Doué—8.4: When granted space, he was a constant threat. Doué also perfectly timed a couple of challenges to recover the ball, one which led to the action of Mbappé’s penalty and another to a brilliant run that nearly resulted in him opening the scoring had he placed his shot better. ST: Kylian Mbappé—8.2: Sensational step-over to provoke a penalty, one he missed with an uncharacteristically awful strike. He then redeemed himself with a breathtaking goal to ignite the win. His status will be closely monitored after he left the pitch with a knock on his ankle. SUB: Warren Zaïre-Emery (71’ for Koné)—6.2: Dedicated himself to keeping possession. Nothing spectacular happened during his brief cameo. SUB: Bradley Barcola (77’ for Doué)—6.7: Was a constant threat since he came on down the right wing, but his decision-making in the final action was subpar. SUB: Jean-Philippe Mateta (77’ for Mbappé)—6.1: Had a few chances to increase France’s lead but couldn’t be clinical in front of goal. SUB: Malo Gusto (87’ for Koundé)—N/ASubs not used: Brice Samba (GK), Robin Risser (GK), Ibrahima Konaté, Lucas Hernández, Maxence Lacroix, Theo Hernández, Aurélien Tchouaméni, N’Golo Kanté, Maghnes Akliouche, Marcus Thuram.What the Ratings Tell UsManu Koné (left) and Adrien Rabiot are unsung French heroes. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedDésiré Doué was decisive in his cameo from the bench against Paraguay and delivered once again against Morocco. His ability to create in tight spaces is of particular importance, while also thriving in open space. He’s likely to keep his spot in the XI in the semifinals over Bradley Barcola. France’s fullbacks have been signaled as the team’s weak point. But facing their biggest threat of the tournament so far, Jules Koundé and especially Lucas Digne aced the daunting test. The former did well on the few times he was needed, but Digne nullified Morocco’s dangerous right wing and even contributed in attack. The Aston Villa left back didn’t begin the tournament as a starter, but he’s emphatically made the position his own over the Hernández brothers. Adrien Rabiot and Manu Koné aren’t the flashiest players nor the brightest of stars, but they play a vital role in France’s midfield to allow the elite cast up characters up front to thrive. Against Morocco, the pair dominated emphatically, tirelessly recovering the ball while also perfectly positioned to cover counter-attacks. The pair are the unsung heroes of Les Bleus’ tournament run so far, especially without the injured Aurélien Tchouaméni. The Numbers That Explain France’s Dominant WinFrance was the first team to book its spot in the World Cup semifinals. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedFrance couldn’t capitalize on a first half where it produced 1.87 xG to Morocco’s 0.06, missing three big chances, including Mbappé’s penalty. Les Bleus outshot Morocco 22 to five across the full 90 minutes. The result could’ve easily been more lopsided had France scored one of the five big chances it created. Six France players registered a higher combined xG than Morocco’s 0.14 total, including center back Dayot Upamecano. StatisticFranceMoroccoPosession48%52%xG3.050.14Total Shots225Shots on Target81Big Chances 50Pass Accuracy89%86%Fouls1013Corners55READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow