FIFA World Cup 2026 | Quarter-Final, Match 97 | Thursday, 9 July 2026 Boston Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts | Referee: TBC
Kylian Mbappé stood over the penalty spot in the first half. He had already scored seven goals in this tournament. He had already set records nobody thought would be challenged for years. He hit it weakly and Yassine Bounou saved it comfortably.
Fifteen minutes later, Mbappé scored with a curl into the far corner that had nothing of the penalty’s hesitancy about it. Everything that made him the best player at this World Cup — the timing, the movement, the technical execution — in one moment. Eight goals. Level with Messi. More assists. First in the Golden Boot race.
France 2-0 Morocco. Three consecutive World Cup semi-finals. Six wins from six at this tournament, the only team to make it this far without extra time. Morocco, the last African nation in the competition, are going home.
The first half was almost entirely one-sided in France’s favour and almost entirely goalless. Morocco’s xG from those 45 minutes was 0.04. Not a misprint. Morocco had less than a one-in-twenty chance of scoring across the entire opening period according to Opta’s calculations. Brahim Díaz — operating in an attacking role — had moments without threatening. Ounahi drove forward early in the second half and got into the penalty area without anyone forcing Maignan into a save. France were this dominant and still had to wait until the hour to find the net.
Bouaddi was the positive Moroccan story of the first half. The 18-year-old Lille midfielder became the second-youngest player in World Cup quarter-final history, behind only Pelé in 1958. He also became the first African player to make five World Cup appearances as a teenager. Morocco had come to Boston hoping he and the generation around him could do what the 2022 squad had done — find a way through opposition who expected an easy evening.
It did not happen. Morocco did not have a single shot on target in the first half.
France missed that penalty and kept going. Michael Olise — who had been brilliant throughout the tournament in a deeper creative role — played Mbappé through on goal in the 60th minute. Mbappé sorted his feet out just inside the box — one touch to create space — and swept it into the far corner. Twenty career World Cup goals. Matching Messi. And he had the advantage of three assists to Messi’s one.
Olise was involved again six minutes later. He found Dembélé in space after a brilliant ball through. Dembélé picked the ball up, drove directly at Morocco’s retreating defence, and sent his effort squirming past Bounou. Two-nil. This was surely over.
Bounou had made six saves across the afternoon. A leaning kick stop from Mateta in the closing stages was the one that most caught the eye — but it made no difference to the scoreline. Morocco pressed for a late goal that would have served only as consolation and Maignan barely needed to work.
Mbappé took a knock late in the second half and was substituted off. Deschamps said afterwards it did not appear serious. France will find out more in the next 48 hours. The semi-final against Spain or Belgium on Tuesday gives them some recovery time, though not much.
Haaland was watching from Norway’s camp and typed out a complaint on Snapchat about the three-minute VAR check before Mbappé’s missed penalty. “Need to wait five min to take a penalty is way too long,” the Norwegian wrote. Haaland and England meet in the other quarter-final on Saturday. He had his own opinions about favourites.
France’s stats from Thursday were absurd. Twenty-two total attempts. Eight on target. xG of 3.04 compared to Morocco’s 0.14. Six straight wins at this World Cup without going to extra time once. The only team in the competition’s history to win all six of their games before the semi-final stage.
For Morocco, the exit ends a remarkable decade of progress. The 2022 semi-final was the peak. This team, rebuilt around a younger generation — Bouaddi, Amaimouni-Echghouyab, Saadane — had hoped to go further. They won Group B, beat their round of 32 opponent, and ran into France at the quarter-final stage. Against this version of France, almost anyone would run into trouble.
Deschamps, in his 28th World Cup knockout game as France manager, said the team had been excellent and now needed to be ready for whoever came through on Friday. He did not say which outcome he preferred. He did not need to.
For live World Cup scores and semi-final coverage, visit fawanews.org.uk. Full results and bracket at the official FIFA World Cup website.
France 2-0 Morocco FIFA World Cup 2026, Quarter-Final, Match 97 | Thursday, 9 July 2026 Boston Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts
Goals: Kylian Mbappé 60′ (assist: Michael Olise), Ousmane Dembélé 66′ (assist: Mbappé) Penalty missed: Kylian Mbappé (first half — saved by Bounou, VAR check took three minutes)
France (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernández; Tchouaméni, Rabiot; Dembélé, Olise, Barcola; Mbappé (Mateta 82′)
Morocco (4-2-3-1): Bounou; Hakimi, Riad, Diop, Mazraoui; Bouaddi, El Aynaoui; Saadane, Ounahi, Dembélé B.; Amaimouni-Echghouyab (Sabiri 71′)
Stats: Possession France 46% — Morocco 46% (8% contested) | Attempts 22-5 | On Target 8-1 | xG France 3.04 — Morocco 0.14 | Half-time: 0-0
Records: Mbappé — 8 World Cup goals, leads Golden Boot race. Only player with 10+ direct goal involvements at two different World Cups. France — six wins from six without extra time, first team to do so before the semi-finals. Bouaddi — second-youngest quarter-final player in World Cup history (after Pelé 1958), first African teenager with five World Cup appearances.
Semi-final: France vs winner of Spain/Belgium (Arlington, Texas — Tuesday 15 July)
