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France became the first team to qualify for the semifinals of the this Thursday by defeating Morocco 2-0 at Gillette Stadium in Boston, marking an exact reedition of the semifinal from Qatar 2022.
The team led by Didier Deschamps resolved the match with authority thanks to its two great offensive stars: Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring with a high-quality goal, while Ousmane Dembélé sealed the match with the second goal.
Mbappé, however, did not have a perfect night: he missed a penalty during the match and left the field in the second half due to a physical discomfort that raised concerns for the upcoming rounds.
Morocco tried to stay in the match, but the French defense was solid and impenetrable for the entire 90 minutes, not conceding any real chances to the African team.
The Moroccan team reached this stage after defeating the Netherlands in the Round of 16 (1-1, 3-2 on penalties) and thrashing Canada 3-0 in the quarterfinals, but they could not repeat the feat of Qatar 2022, when they became the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal.
France, for its part, arrived at this matchup as one of the strongest teams in the tournament: it topped its group with a perfect record, scoring 10 goals and conceding only two, and eliminated Paraguay 1-0 in the Round of 16 with a penalty from Mbappé in the 70th minute.
With seven goals in the tournament, Mbappé shares the lead for the Golden Boot alongside Messi and Haaland, and continues to be one of the key figures of the World Cup despite the uncertainties surrounding his physical condition.
Dembélé, for his part, has scored four goals in the competition, including a hat-trick in just 25 minutes against Norway during the group stage.
France is now looking to reach its third consecutive final: it won the title in Russia 2018 and lost to Argentina in the final of Qatar 2022.
The French are awaiting the winner of the match between Spain and Belgium, scheduled for Friday, July 10 at SoFi Stadium, while the other two quarterfinals, Norway vs. England and Argentina vs. Switzerland, will take place on Saturday, July 11.
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