France reach World Cup semifinals as Mbappe's 8th goal sinks Morocco

France advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 North America World Cup on Friday, powered by Kylian Mbappe's eighth goal of the tournament in a 2-0 victory over Morocco.

At Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele scored in the second half to eliminate Morocco, with the match played Friday Korean Standard Time.

France, two-time World Cup champions (1998 and 2018) and runners-up at the 2022 Qatar tournament, reached the semifinals for the third consecutive edition. They enter this stage as the tournament's strongest title contenders.

France had beaten Morocco 2-0 in the semifinals at Qatar 2022 and repeated that exact scoreline on Friday. France will face the winner of the Spain-Belgium match — scheduled for Saturday — in the semifinal at Dallas Stadium on Wednesday.

France pressed hard from the opening whistle, but Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou proved an imposing obstacle, turning away a long-range effort from Mbappe in the 4th minute and a header from Dayot Upamecano among several first-half stops.

France's best chance of the first half came in the 25th minute when Mbappe won a penalty after being fouled by Noussair Mazraoui. Mbappe stepped up to take the spot kick himself, but after a brief delay for a video review, his right-footed shot was saved by Bounou.

France came alive after the break. Mbappe, who had trudged off after his penalty miss, redeemed himself in the 60th minute to give France the lead. Receiving a pass from Doue on the left side of the penalty area, Mbappe produced a precise right-footed finish past Morocco defender Issa Laye Diop to find the net.

The goal was Mbappe's eighth of the tournament, drawing him level with Lionel Messi of Argentina at the top of the scoring charts. His career World Cup tally rose to 20 goals, one behind all-time leader Messi's 21. The strike also extended Mbappe's own record for most goals in World Cup knockout rounds to 12.

France doubled their lead in the 66th minute when Dembele struck a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area to make it 2-0 and seal the win.

With the two-goal cushion secure past the 75th minute, France substituted Mbappe — who had sat down on the pitch showing some discomfort in his leg — for Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 77th minute, and also brought on Bradley Barcola for Doue.