France 2-0 Morocco Highlights, FIFA World Cup 2026 QF: Mbappe, Dembele's Goals Lead Les Bleus To Semi-Final

Greetings, we are back with our FIFA World Cup 2026 live blog as France andMorocco face-off in the quarter final match. The action is about to begin, so stay tuned for all the live updates from Boston Stadium.

Competition: FIFA World Cup 2026™

Stage: Quarter-finals

Kickoff Time: 4:00 PM EDT (1:30 AM IST on July 10)

Venue: Boston Stadium (Gillette Stadium), Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA

Referee: Facundo Tello

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be telecast live on Unite8 Sports network on television. For live streaming, one can catch the action on the Zee5 app and website.

Morocco has been dealt a significant blow ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final against France, with star forward Ismael Saibari ruled out due to a hamstring injury. The 25-year-old, who recently secured a major transfer to Bayern Munich, sustained the injury just 22 minutes into Morocco's 3-0 Round of 16 victory over Canada. Although Morocco's head coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, has expressed hope that the injury is not serious enough to end Saibari's tournament, the match against France has ultimately come too soon for him to return to action. Having scored in each of Morocco's three group-stage matches and converted the decisive penalty in their Round of 32 shootout win against the Netherlands, Saibari has been one of the team’s standout performers, and his absence will require the Atlas Lions to lean on their squad depth—with Soufiane Rahimi expected to lead the line in his stead—as they look to pull off an upset against the tournament favorites

Following France's 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16, a major diplomatic and sporting controversy erupted involving French captain Kylian Mbappé and Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla. After Mbappé scored the decisive penalty in a tense encounter, Amarilla launched a series of racist attacks on social media, disparaging the French captain’s heritage, appearance, and intellect. Mbappé responded firmly on social media, labeling the senator a "despicable woman" and asserting that she did not represent the spirit of the Paraguayan people. The incident drew widespread condemnation, with the French Football Federation filing criminal complaints and the Paraguayan government formally distancing itself from the senator's remarks. While Amarilla subsequently deleted her posts and attempted to counter-accuse Mbappé of gender-based violence, French prosecutors have since opened an investigation into the incident, treating the senator’s comments as a potential case of incitement to hatred.

The winner of the quarter-final match between France and Morocco will face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The semi-final match is scheduled to take place at the Dallas Stadium in Texas on Tuesday, July 14, 2026

France and Morocco have met six times in their history, with France holding a dominant record. France has secured four victories, while Morocco has one win, and the remaining match ended in a draw

Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Noussair Mazraoui, Anass Salah-Eddine; Ayyoub Bouaddi, Neil El Aynaoui; Chemsdine Talbi, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El Khannouss; Brahim Diaz

SUBS: Munir El Kajoui, Ahmed Tagnaouti, Zakaria El Ouahdi, Redouane Halhal, Youssef Belammari, Chadi Riad, Marwane Saadane, Ismael Saibari, Samir El Mourabet, Sofyan Amrabat, Gessime Yassine, Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab, Ayoub El Kaabi, Amine Sbai, Soufiane Rahimi

Argentine referee Facundo Tello, who previously oversaw Morocco's historic 1-0 quarter-final win over Portugal in 2022, blows his whistle to get us underway here at Boston Stadium, and the match is officially live!

France have immediately seized the initiative. After Yassine Bounou parried a long-range Kylian Mbappé strike behind for a corner, the goalkeeper was called into action once more; he brilliantly denied Dayot Upamecano, who had found himself completely unmarked in the six-yard box, by pushing away the defender's close-range header.

France are methodically probing the Moroccan backline with patient possession, eventually finding Désiré Doué in space; however, his strike is promptly denied by a well-positioned Issa Diop, who steps in to make a crucial block.

PENALTY TO FRANCE! Les Bleus have a prime opportunity to break the deadlock after Noussair Mazraoui clips Kylian Mbappé inside the box following the skipper's clever touch. However, Yassine Bounou comes to the rescue, guessing correctly to dive to his left and comfortably hold a tame effort from Mbappé. The forward appeared rattled by a lengthy three-minute delay before the kick, but Morocco will certainly not care about the circumstances—a massive let-off for the Atlas Lions!

Bounou stands firm again! After a misplaced pass from Morocco gifts possession to Désiré Doué, the Frenchman drives toward the box and fires a low strike, but the goalkeeper is perfectly positioned to make the save.

It remains scoreless at Boston Stadium as Morocco successfully hold France to a stalemate at the break. While Les Bleus have dominated the attacking metrics with 13 attempts and an expected goals (xG) of 1.87—most notably when Yassine Bounou saved a tame Kylian Mbappé penalty following a lengthy delay—they have been unable to find a breakthrough, with Lucas Digne also rattling the crossbar. Despite Morocco shading the possession with 51%, the Atlas Lions have struggled to pose a real threat, managing a meager 0.05 xG, and will need to find far more attacking incision after the interval if they are to trouble the French defense.

Morocco have started the second half with renewed attacking intent, driven by Azzedine Ounahi's surging runs, but their hesitation to pull the trigger has allowed the French defense to regroup and effectively neutralize the threat.

FRANCE LEAD 1-0! After persistent pressure, Kylian Mbappé finally breaks the deadlock, curling a precise strike from just inside the box around Issa Diop and into the far corner following a feed from Désiré Doué. Morocco protested a potential handball in the build-up, but the goal stands, and they have immediately responded with a double substitution, bringing on Soufiane Rahimi for Bilal El Khannouss.

FRANCE DOUBLE THEIR LEAD! Ousmane Dembélé makes it 2-0 with a clinical finish from the edge of the box. Kylian Mbappé turned provider, executing a clever run that dragged defenders out of position to open up the space. Dembélé’s low curling effort found the bottom corner, aided by a fumble from Yassine Bounou, who perhaps should have done better to keep it out.

Didier Deschamps has opted to rest Kylian Mbappé ahead of the semi-finals, with the captain departing to a warm ovation to be replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta, while Bradley Barcola has also entered the fray for Désiré Doué. France nearly suffered a spectacular own-goal moments later when Dayot Upamecano sliced a clearance from an inswinging cross that looped dangerously just over his own crossbar.

Morocco’s offensive struggles continue as the clock winds down; Azzedine Ounahi attempted to spark some life into their attack with a 25-yard strike from a short free-kick, but it proved to be a comfortable save for Mike Maignan.

France continue to hunt for a third goal, with Bradley Barcola forcing Yassine Bounou to parry a strike behind at the near post. From the resulting corner, Jean-Philippe Mateta connected with Ousmane Dembélé’s delivery, but he was caught underneath the ball and sent his close-range header sailing over the bar.

Jean-Philippe Mateta nearly added a third for France! The striker showed excellent composure to twist away from his marker and attempt a clever reverse finish, but Yassine Bounou reacted sharply to make the block and keep the deficit at two goals.

The final whistle sounds at Boston Stadium, confirming a 2-0 victory for France and a place in the semi-finals, where they will face either Belgium or Spain. While France endured a slow start, they clinically punished Morocco in the second half to seal their progression.

It is a disappointing end for the Atlas Lions, but they can depart with heads held high after another highly successful tournament. Morocco’s campaign included avoiding defeat against Brazil and a thrilling penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands, further cementing their status as a global force. Having reached another quarter-final, the team has established a strong foundation of momentum to build upon as they look toward co-hosting the World Cup in four years' time.