France repeated the scenario of the 2022 World Cup, eliminating Morocco once again from the World Cup, this time in the quarterfinals of the 2026 edition, with a deserved 2-0 victory at Gillette Stadium in Boston, setting up a semifinal date with a notable offensive performance and clear field control throughout the second half.

Goals and Key Moments

Kylian Mbappé opened the proceedings early when he earned a penalty in the 28th minute, but he missed it himself, leaving the score goalless until the start of the second half. In the 60th minute, Mbappé made the difference; he received a pass from Désiré Doué and converted it into the net to open the scoring. Just two minutes later, Morocco made two simultaneous substitutions: Sofyan Amrabat came on for Ayoub Bouaddi, and Sofyan Rahimi replaced Bilal El Khannous, in an attempt to reshape the game. In the 63rd minute, Issa Diop received a yellow card, adding to Morocco's burden. Before the Lions could absorb the shock of the first goal, the second goal came in the 66th minute from Ousmane Dembélé with an assist from Mbappé, closing the door on any potential comeback. In the 77th minute, Mbappé gave way to Jean-Philippe Mateta, while Bradley Barcola replaced Désiré Doué, before Morocco made further changes in the 74th and 85th minutes.

Statistical Analysis

France dominated shots by a wide margin: 21 shots to Morocco's 5, with 8 on target compared to just one for the Lions.

Morocco recorded a slight advantage in possession with 52% against 48% for France, but this possession did not translate into real danger.

The expected goals (xG) statistic revealed the true gap between the two teams; it reached 3.10 for France compared to just 0.13 for Morocco.

Morocco's goalkeeper made 6 saves, while the French goalkeeper made only one save throughout the match.

The two teams were equal in corner kicks with 5 each, and offsides were completely absent from both sides.

Man of the Match

Ousmane Dembélé won the Man of the Match award with a rating of 8.6, after a distinguished performance capped by the second winning goal with which France tightened its grip on the match and closed the door on a Moroccan comeback.

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