World Cup: Mbappe, Dembele end Morocco’s dream as France reach semi-finals

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France ended Morocco’s dream of reaching back-to-back semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup on Thursday with a clinical 2-0 victory.

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While the Atlas Lions were caged, the French team marched into the semi-finals for the third consecutive edition of the tournament.

Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scored second-half goals to settle a tense quarter-final, bringing an end to Morocco’s remarkable campaign in North America.

The Atlas Lions had reached the last eight as the only African team still standing after Egypt’s Round of 16 exit and hoped to build on their historic semi-final appearance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Instead, Didier Deschamps’ side once again proved too strong.

France dominated the opening exchanges and almost took the lead in the fourth minute when Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou brilliantly saved Dayot Upamecano’s header.

The breakthrough appeared to come midway through the first half after Noussair Mazraoui was adjudged to have fouled Mbappe inside the box. Following a lengthy VAR review, referee Facundo Tello upheld the penalty decision.

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Mbappé stepped up but saw his spot-kick superbly saved by Bounou, who became the first Moroccan goalkeeper to save a penalty during normal play at a World Cup.

Despite the missed opportunity, France continued to control possession and limited Morocco to just one touch inside the French penalty area before half-time. Lucas Digne also struck the crossbar with a powerful long-range effort as Les Bleus piled on the pressure.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 60th minute when Mbappé made amends for his earlier miss, driving home from outside the box to score his eighth goal of the tournament.

Just six minutes later, the Real Madrid forward turned provider, setting up Dembélé, whose shot found the bottom corner to double France’s advantage.

Mbappé’s latest goal also took his World Cup tally to 20, moving him second on the all-time scoring list behind only Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who has 21.

The France captain also reached another milestone, becoming the first player since records began in 1966 to register 10 goal involvements in two different World Cups, having produced eight goals and two assists at both Qatar 2022 and the 2026 tournament.

Dembélé’s strike was his fifth of the competition, making France the first team since Brazil in 2002 to have two players score at least five goals in the same World Cup.

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Morocco pushed for a way back into the contest but failed to break through a disciplined French defence, with Achraf Hakimi and Neil El Aynaoui going closest late on.

France will now continue their pursuit of a third World Cup title, while Morocco leave the tournament with their heads held high after another campaign that underlined the growing strength of African football on the global stage.