Kylian Mbappé scores 8th World Cup goal as France eliminates Morocco again
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Former USA men’s team defender Jonathan Bornstein discusses FIFA’s controversial decision to reverse Balogun’s red card suspension that would have allowed him to play in the crucial World Cup Round of 16 match. Bornstein explains why this call was “correct” by comparing it with the criticism of the Norway coach. The USA will face top-seeded Belgium.
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France sent home a 2-0 win over Morocco for their second consecutive World Cup.
A historic semi-final took place in 2022, with Morocco becoming the first African team to reach this stage of the tournament. However, France defeated them to reach the World Cup Final in Qatar.
Four years later, history repeated itself in the quarter-finals as Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scored second-half goals to send France back to the semi-finals.
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Kylian Mbappe of France celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium on July 9, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images)
France will now wait for the winner of Spain and Belgium, who will face each other in Los Angeles on Friday at 15:00.
Similar to Paraguay against France in the Round of 16, Morocco was clearly focusing on their defence, making sure players like Mbappé did not have easy lanes to score.
He was trying to start the match but France immediately went on the offensive and stayed there throughout the match. However, Morocco faltered due to a foul in their own penalty area, necessitating a penalty kick.
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ’S SEVENTH GOAL OF THE WORLD CUP PUT FRANCE PASSING PARAGUAY IN 16 PHYSICAL MATCHES
Mbappé stepped towards the ball but the first referee was waiting for the signal to see if a VAR check was needed before the penalty was awarded. The referee awarded a penalty on the pitch but Mbappé was left frustrated as he had to keep redoing his routine many times until he finally got the chance.
As Morocco goalkeeper Yassine “Bono” Bounou read Mbappé like a book, the French superstar tried to trick him into moving before striking. But Bounou stood like a statue, diving to his left and keeping the scoreboard quiet in the first half.
Morocco failed to create their first real scoring chance until injury time, underlining France’s control of the match. It seemed like only a matter of time before Les Bleus would finally succeed.
French forward Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the 2026 World Cup soccer tournament quarterfinal match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium in Foxborough on July 9, 2026. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
After returning to their attacking methods in the second half, with defenders surrounding them, it was left to Mbappé to find enough space in the Moroccan penalty area and he fired a perfect shot past Bounou to score his eighth World Cup tournament goal.
Mbappé is tied with Argentinian Lionel Messi for the lead in this World Cup and has 20 wins in his career. Messi, who previously broke the all-time World Cup goal record in the group stages, has 21 goals.
With Morocco finally capitulating, France began to find more space, with their opponent having to open the field to equalize. Dembelé exploited one of these gaps to perfection.
In the 66th minute, Dembelé used his weaker right foot to curl a low screamer towards Bounou’s goal. Even though the Moroccan goalkeeper intervened, it was not enough as the ball floated towards the net.
At this point France knew they had the space they needed to close out the match on the scoreboard. No matter how hard Morocco tried, they could not come to a conclusion, and Didier Deschamps’ squad proved once again how dominant they could be in the World Cup, reaching the semi-finals.
France forward Kylian Mbappe and Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi fight for the ball during the 2026 World Cup soccer tournament quarterfinal match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium in Foxborough on July 9, 2026. (FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
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France will play in Dallas on July 14 at 3 p.m. and will face either a Spain team that has yet to concede a goal in this tournament or a Belgium team that took the U.S. team to the quarterfinals.
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