A press report revealed on Friday the secret behind Michael Olise being prevented from celebrating Ousmane Dembele's second goal against Morocco in the 2026 World Cup quarter-final on Thursday.

France won 2-0 in the match played in Boston, thanks to two goals scored within seven minutes in the second half of a game dominated by Les Bleus, securing their place in the World Cup semi-finals after overcoming Morocco.

Captain Kylian Mbappe scored the first goal with a curling shot, after the first half saw Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou save a penalty taken by the Real Madrid striker, while the Moroccan goalkeeper later failed to keep out Ousmane Dembele's shot which doubled France's lead.

With this victory, France qualified to face Spain or Belgium in the first semi-final match of the World Cup in Dallas on Tuesday, now just 90 minutes away from reaching the final for the third consecutive time.

According to sportbible, the second goal for Les Bleus against Morocco sparked wild celebrations on the touchline, but fans noticed that France star Michael Olise was prevented from joining the celebratory huddle by substitute goalkeeper Brice Samba.

The quick thinking of the Rennes player revealed his knowledge of the first clause of Article 8 of the laws of the game, an action that may have made the difference in maintaining his country's two-goal lead.

Article 8 of the laws of the game states: 'At each kick-off, all players, except the player taking the kick, must be in their own half of the field.'

The application of this law is limited to players on the field of play, and since there was no player in the opponent's half to actively prevent the restart, France would have fulfilled the conditions for the kick-off, and Morocco would have been allowed to resume play without any French player in their way.

By stopping Olise from rushing towards the group of celebrating players, Samba ensured that 'all players' were not in their own half, thus denying Morocco the right to restart unimpeded to reduce the deficit, with more than 20 minutes left in the match.