Istanbul / Ahmed Hassan / Anadolu Agency

The French national team ended the hopes of its Moroccan counterpart of reaching the World Cup semifinals for the second consecutive time by defeating them 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup.

In a match held at Boston Stadium in Massachusetts, USA, Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scored France's goals in the 60th and 66th minutes, securing their team's qualification to the semifinals for the third consecutive time.

With this win, Les Bleus booked a spot in the next round, facing the winner of the Spain vs. Belgium match, scheduled for Friday at Los Angeles Stadium in California, on Tuesday, 14th.

The French team started the first half with a strong attacking push and almost opened the scoring early from two dangerous chances in the 4th minute: a powerful shot from Kylian Mbappé and a header from Dayot Upamecano, but Yassine Bounou brilliantly saved both.

The Moroccan team resorted to reinforcing their defense in an attempt to absorb the enthusiasm of the French players, while relying on launching quick counterattacks to relieve pressure on their goal, but they did not pose any threat to the French goal.

The French pressure continued, and Kylian Mbappé earned a penalty in the 25th minute after being fouled inside the area by Noussair Mazraoui. Mbappé stepped up to take it, but Bounou continued his brilliance to save it.

Desiré Doué launched a French attack, penetrating the Moroccan defense and entering the penalty area before shooting with his right foot towards goal, but the Moroccan goalkeeper bravely defended his goal and pushed it away for a corner in the 35th minute.

The crossbar denied a powerful long-range shot from outside the area by Lucas Digne with his left foot in the 45+2 minute, depriving France of an opening goal, and the first half ended in a goalless draw.

In the second half, French dominance and attacking pressure continued until the 60th minute, when Kylian Mbappé received a ball from Desiré Doué, raced towards the penalty area, and curled a shot into the top left corner.

With this goal, the Real Madrid forward raised his tally to 8 goals, sharing the tournament's top scorer list with Lionel Messi, and now has 20 goals in 20 World Cup appearances, closing to within one goal of the Argentine player.

Ousmane Dembélé doubled the lead for Les Bleus in the 66th minute, when he received a pass from Mbappé, the Ballon d'Or winner, ran towards goal and shot a low left-footed drive from outside the area into the net.

The Moroccan team abandoned defensive caution and began exchanging attacks with France in search of an equalizer. Their first serious chance came in the 83rd minute when Azzedine Ounahi fired a powerful shot from outside the area that was saved by the goalkeeper.

This was immediately followed by a powerful header from Nael Elainawi after a cross from a corner kick taken by Achraf Hakimi, but it went just wide of the right post. The following minutes saw no further changes, and Argentine referee Facundo Tello blew the final whistle with France winning 2-0.

The United States, Canada, and Mexico are hosting the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, from June 11 to July 19, with 48 teams participating.