Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele goals ensure France qualify for semi-final

The French squad defeated Morocco with a 2-0 goal and managed to advance to the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup. (Source X @FIFAWorldCup)

JAKARTA - The French national team secured a place in the 2026 World Cup semifinals after defeating Morocco 2-0 in the quarterfinal match at Stadoin Boston, USA on Friday WIB.

Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele became the heroes of Les Bleus' victory through their goals in the second half.

The 2-0 victory ensured France became the first team to advance to the 2026 World Cup semifinals. Les Bleus now await the winner of Spain vs. Belgium to compete for a ticket to the final match.

In the match, France immediately threatened from the start of the match. Mbappe's hard shot in the 3rd minute could still be deflected by Bounou, before the Moroccan goalkeeper made another brilliant save when he thwarted Dayot Upamecano's header from a corner kick.

France's victory against Morocco with a 2-0 goal was contributed by Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele through their goals in the second half. (Source X @FIFAWorldCup)

France earned a penalty in the 25th minute after Mbappe was brought down by Noussair Mazraoui in the penalty box. However, Mbappe's execution to the left side of the goal was too weak to be caught by Bounou.

Towards the break, Les Bleus continued to press. Desire Doue's effort was again thwarted by Bounou, while Lucas Digne's header in the 45th minute only hit the crossbar. The score remained goalless until halftime.

After halftime, France maintained the intensity of the attack. After Doue's opportunity was again thwarted by Bounou, Mbappe finally led his team to a 60th-minute goal with a shot from close to the penalty area that nestled in the corner of the Moroccan goal.

France's lead increased six minutes later. Dembele made a penetration before firing a horizontal right foot from outside the penalty area that shook Bounou's goal to change the score to 2-0.

Morocco tried to bounce back in the remaining minutes. Their best chance came through Azzedine Ounahi's shot in the 82nd minute, but was still able to be stopped by Mike Maignan.

Until the final whistle was blown, as reported by Antara, the Atlas Lions failed to score and had to admit France's two-goal advantage.

The line-up:

France (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot, Michael Olise, Desire Doue; Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe.

Morocco (4-2-3-1): Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Noussair Mazraoui, Anass Eddine; Ayyoub Bouaddi, Neil El Aynaoui, Bilal El Khannouss, Chemsdine Talbi; Azzedine Ounahi; Brahim Diaz.