On Thursday, July 9th, at a stadium in Boston, France defeated Morocco 2:0 in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup. The score looks comfortable, but the first half is quite a different story.
Penalty, crossbar and goalkeeper wall
Moroccan goalkeeper Yassin Bounou saved Mbappé's penalty kick, then stopped Upamecano's header, and at the end of the first half the crossbar saved the goal from Diény's shot. Morocco failed to register a single accurate shot in the entire first half — and yet still managed to keep it level.
Mbappé's response
In the 60th minute, Mbappé received a pass from Dué, beat the defender and curled the ball into the near corner — 1:0. His eighth goal of the tournament, and now he shares first place in the Golden Boot race with Messi — the Argentine also has eight. France has the advantage in assist count.
"His overall record at World Cups has reached 20 goals — only one less than Messi's."
Hindustan Times
Six minutes later, Dembélé, who already has five goals in this tournament, came out from the centre and rolled the ball into the bottom corner — 2:0. The match was essentially decided in the 66th minute.
Only team without extra time
France is the only one of eight quarter-finalists to win all six matches in the tournament without overtime or penalty shootout. This is the third consecutive semi-final appearance for the "tricolours" after 2018 (gold) and 2022 (silver).
- Mbappé — 8 goals, missed a penalty, was substituted late due to an injury
- Dembélé — 5 goals in the tournament, author of the second goal
- Bounou (Morocco) — saved a penalty but conceded twice after the break
July 14 — against Spain or Belgium
France will learn their opponent on Friday: Spain and Belgium are playing in Boston. Deschamps, for whom this tournament could be his last as national team head coach, is approaching his third World Cup title.
If Mbappé scores two more goals in the two remaining matches, he will become the sole leader in goals scored at club and national team World Cups — but only if Messi doesn't catch up with him from the bench.
