Les Bleus March On: France Extinguishes Morocco's World Cup Dream in Boston Rematch

BOSTON — The fairytale has hit a familiar roadblock. In a high-stakes replay of their iconic 2022 matchup, tournament favourites France proved too clinical once again, securing a hard-fought 2–0 victory over a resolute Morocco side to advance to the World Cup semifinals.

Bounou’s First-Half Heroics

The first 45 minutes at a packed Boston Stadium belonged to Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine "Bono" Bounou. France’s high-octane front line pressured the African champions from the opening whistle, creating multiple high-expected-goal opportunities.

The defining moment of the first half arrived in the 27th minute. After a sweeping French counterattack, Noussair Mazraoui clumsy upended Kylian Mbappé in the box, prompting Argentine referee Facundo Tello to point straight to the penalty spot. Mbappé stepped up to take the kick himself, but Bounou guessed correctly, diving brilliantly to deny the French captain and keep the Atlas Lions level at 0–0 going into the halftime break.

The French Breakthrough

Morocco, missing injured top-scorer Ismael Saibari from the starting lineup, struggled to generate meaningful dangerous transitions against France's imposing center-back pairing of William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano.

France’s persistence finally cracked the Moroccan wall in the 60th minute. Erasing his first-half penalty miss, Mbappé combined brilliantly with Désiré Doué before slotting a magnificent finish past Bounou to claim his eighth goal of the tournament.

Just six minutes later, Les Bleus struck the decisive blow. Mbappé turned provider, carving open the Moroccan midfield and feeding Ousmane Dembélé. The winger unleashed a clinical right-footed strike from just outside the penalty area, burying it into the bottom-right corner to make it 2–0.

Onto the Semifinals

Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi threw on Soufiane Rahimi and Sofyan Amrabat in an attempt to spark a late comeback, but the French defensive block stayed organized until the final whistle.

With this victory, Didier Deschamps' clinical squad remains the only team in the tournament with a perfect winning record. France now flies to Dallas for the semifinals, where they will face the winner of tomorrow's blockbuster quarterfinal clash between Spain and Belgium.

Les Bleus March On: France Extinguishes Morocco's World Cup Dream in Boston Rematch

BOSTON — The fairytale has hit a familiar roadblock. In a high-stakes replay of their iconic 2022 matchup, tournament favourites France proved too clinical once again, securing a hard-fought 2–0 victory over a resolute Morocco side to advance to the World Cup semifinals.

Bounou’s First-Half Heroics

The first 45 minutes at a packed Boston Stadium belonged to Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine "Bono" Bounou. France’s high-octane front line pressured the African champions from the opening whistle, creating multiple high-expected-goal opportunities.

The defining moment of the first half arrived in the 27th minute. After a sweeping French counterattack, Noussair Mazraoui clumsy upended Kylian Mbappé in the box, prompting Argentine referee Facundo Tello to point straight to the penalty spot. Mbappé stepped up to take the kick himself, but Bounou guessed correctly, diving brilliantly to deny the French captain and keep the Atlas Lions level at 0–0 going into the halftime break.

The French Breakthrough

Morocco, missing injured top-scorer Ismael Saibari from the starting lineup, struggled to generate meaningful dangerous transitions against France's imposing center-back pairing of William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano.

France’s persistence finally cracked the Moroccan wall in the 60th minute. Erasing his first-half penalty miss, Mbappé combined brilliantly with Désiré Doué before slotting a magnificent finish past Bounou to claim his eighth goal of the tournament.

Just six minutes later, Les Bleus struck the decisive blow. Mbappé turned provider, carving open the Moroccan midfield and feeding Ousmane Dembélé. The winger unleashed a clinical right-footed strike from just outside the penalty area, burying it into the bottom-right corner to make it 2–0.

Onto the Semifinals

Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi threw on Soufiane Rahimi and Sofyan Amrabat in an attempt to spark a late comeback, but the French defensive block stayed organized until the final whistle.

With this victory, Didier Deschamps' clinical squad remains the only team in the tournament with a perfect winning record. France now flies to Dallas for the semifinals, where they will face the winner of tomorrow's blockbuster quarterfinal clash between Spain and Belgium.