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France on Thursday booked their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Morocco in the quarter-final in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Kylian Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 60th minute before Ousmane Dembélé doubled Les Bleus’ advantage six minutes later.

The result end Morocco’s spirited campaign and keeps France on course for a third World Cup title.

Mbappe recovered from having a first-half penalty saved to score a magnificent opener.

His weak spot-kick was easily saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, but he made up for that by producing a brilliant curling finish to make it 1-0 on the hour mark.

That was Mbappe’s eighth goal at the tournament, moving him level again with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, before he came off late on and watched the final minutes with an ice pack around his right ankle.

Before exiting, he set up Ousmane Dembele to run through and settle the contest watched by 63,811 at the Gillette Stadium, as France knocked Morocco out, just as they did in 2022.

Their 2-0 win four years ago in Qatar came in the semi-finals, and this time the victory for Les Bleus takes them through to the last four.

They will face Spain or Belgium in Dallas next Tuesday.

France are looking to reach a third consecutive World Cup final in their last tournament before long-serving coach Didier Deschamps stands down.

Winners in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, it has felt like they have eased through to another semi-final, and they were too strong for a Moroccan team lacking firepower in the absence of the injured Ismael Saibari.

Mbappe is one of the greatest goal-scorers of his generation, and the World Cup continues to bring the very best out of him.

After netting braces in the group-stage wins over Senegal and Iraq, as well as the last-32 defeat of Sweden, he got the only goal from the penalty spot against Paraguay in the last round.

He has now scored 20 goals in 20 World Cup appearances, within one goal of Messi’s overall tournament record of 21.

More could have been expected from Morocco, who had more of the crowd behind them but lacked a cutting edge in attack as France kept a third clean sheet in as many knockout games.

Dembele Also On Target

Nevertheless, they have plenty of exciting young talents — including former France Under-21 captain Ayyoub Bouaddi in their midfield — and will surely be a force to be reckoned with again when they co-host the next World Cup in 2030 alongside Spain and Portugal.

On Thursday they were just the latest team to find containing Mbappe at a World Cup to be an impossible task.

The Real Madrid star provoked the penalty as he was scythed down in the area by Noussair Mazraoui after a quick breakaway in the 25th minute.

Argentinian referee Facundo Tello immediately pointed to the spot, although a review was needed to rule out a foul on Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi in the build-up.

Maybe the wait got to Mbappe, whose kick was uncharacteristically weak and easily stopped.

It was a reminder that he remains human, just like Messi, who has squandered two penalties at this World Cup.

The excellent Bounou frequently kept France at bay in the first half, notably tipping a Desire Doue shot around the post after Bouaddi was robbed of the ball.

Lucas Digne crashed a shot onto the top of the bar from distance as the opening half ended goalless, but France got the reward for their pressure 15 minutes after the restart.

Doue slipped the ball to Mbappe just outside the area, and he controlled before using Issa Diop as a screen to direct a superb strike into the net.

France’s all-time leading marksman now has 64 international goals from 104 appearances.

His lay-off in the 66th minute allowed Dembele to advance on goal and curl a shot low into the same corner, a hand from Bounou proving unable to make it 2-0.

Dembele is the reigning Ballon d’Or and now has five goals at this World Cup, but Mbappe continues to hog the limelight.

AFP

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup has already brought major changes on the sidelines, with nine national team coaches leaving their positions after their countries were knocked out of the tournament.

The latest to step down is Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic, who ended his tenure following his side’s 2-1 defeat to Portugal in the Round of 32.

The Croatian Football Federation confirmed the 59-year-old’s decision in a statement released on Wednesday, bringing to an end a spell that lasted almost nine years.

“Following nearly nine years, head coach Zlatko Dalic has decided to close his incredibly successful chapter with Croatia.”

Dalic’s exit came shortly after Portugal manager Roberto Martinez also left his role following his team’s World Cup campaign, with his departure announced earlier this week.

Several other nations have also made coaching changes after falling short in the competition. Ghana’s Carlos Queiroz, Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann, Ecuador’s Sebastian Beccacece, Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman, Czechia’s Miroslav Koubek, Scotland’s Steve Clarke, and South Korea’s Hong Myung-bo have all departed following their respective eliminations.

The growing list of managerial exits highlights the intense pressure national team coaches face at major international tournaments, where early elimination often leads to swift changes in leadership.

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Egypt head coach, Hossam Hassan, has said his side suffered “injustice” in their World Cup Round of 16 defeat to Argentina, and declared he would not follow the remainder of the tournament as a result.

Argentina came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in Atlanta on Tuesday, with Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi cancelling out Egypt’s early lead before Enzo Fernandez struck deep into stoppage time to send the defending champions into the quarter-finals.

Speaking after the match, through FIFA’s official translation, Hassan said the outcome went beyond the result on the pitch.

“I think the effect of this outcome goes beyond the defeated seat. We haven’t seen respect nor fair play.

“I’m not convinced with this outcome, with the way things unfolded in this match. I do not want to try to put it nicely with beautiful wording, selective words, saying hard luck and so and so forth. We’ve been treated unfairly today. We’ve suffered injustice,” he said.

He added that he believed there were issues both on and off the pitch that needed scrutiny.

“There are a lot of things to be questioned on and off the pitch, negative aspects all around,” Hassan said.

Hassan said he would not be watching any further matches at the tournament following Egypt’s exit.

The Round of 16 finish was Egypt’s best World Cup outing since 1934, and came at the country’s first appearance at the tournament since 2018.

Hassan’s comments followed a heated exchange with French referee, Francois Letexier, at the final whistle, during which the Egyptian coach suggested the official had “something to hide.”

Egypt had led 2-0 before Argentina’s comeback, and were aggrieved by two decisions in particular — a goal ruled out following a VAR review, and a non-review of a challenge inside the penalty area involving captain Mohamed Salah late in the match.

Egypt’s players echoed Hassan’s frustration after the game, with several accusing the referee of bias, though FIFA is yet to issue a formal response to the allegations.