World Cup 2026: Mbappé's breakthrough sends France past Morocco to semi-finals

France defeated Morocco 2-0 in a hard-fought quarter-final encounter, with Mbappé opening the scoring after initially missing a penalty in the first half.

Mbappé curled in his eighth goal of the tournament on 60 minutes before Dembélé doubled Les Bleus' lead six minutes later to settle a clinical victory at the Gillette Stadium outside Boston.

The win sends the 2018 champions into a last-four showdown against either Spain or Belgium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.

The Atlas Lions had been tipped to pose a serious threat to France's hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final.

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But Didier Deschamps' men were always in control against a limited Morocco side who failed to register a single shot on goal until an 83rd minute free-kick by Azzedine Ounahi was parried away by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

France though struggled to find a breakthrough, and missed the opportunity to take the lead on 28 minutes when Mbappé saw a penalty saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

Mbappé had won the penalty after being brought down by Noussair Mazraoui but was forced to wait several minutes before being allowed to take the kick after a protracted VAR check.

Resilient Bounou

Morocco managed to hold out to half-time but it was always only a matter of time before France's relentless pressure paid off.

The breakthrough came on the hour mark, with Mbappé bending a brilliant right-foot shot past a resilient Bounou from the edge of the area.

Paris Saint-Germain star Dembélé made the game safe in the 66th minute, striding forward menacingly from midfield before steering a low finish into the bottom corner.

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France now await the winner of Friday's quarter-final in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.

Spain, who have not conceded a single goal so far, eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the last 16 and will fancy their chances of overcoming Belgium, who thrashed United States 4-1 to reach the last eight.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)