France knocked out Morocco in Thursday's first World Cup quarterfinal with a 2-0 score that meant the same result as when the two countries last faced off four years ago in the semifinals in Qatar.
The French were threatening from the opening minutes, creating a flurry of chances on the pitch at Gillette Stadium, near Boston. Despite thirteen efforts before half-time, they were denied by a well-organised Moroccan defence and a vigilant Yassine Bounou, with the score locked at 0-0.
The key moment of the first half was a missed penalty by the French captain Kylian Mbappé in the 28th minute. After a long wait before being able to step up, the forward saw his attempt comfortably saved by the Moroccan goalkeeper.
Another highlight came in stoppage time at the end of the first half, when Lucas Digne unleashed a spectacular shot from 25 metres that crashed against Bounou’s crossbar.
With very few attacking chances, Morocco landed only one shot on goal, and that came in the 82nd minute while already trailing by two goals.
