Mbappé powers France past Morocco 2-0 and into World Cup semifinal

For Canadian football fans following the World Cup through TSN and national coverage, France has delivered another major knockout result. Kylian Mbappé recovered from a missed first-half penalty to score the winner and set up Ousmane Dembélé as France beat Morocco 2-0 in Thursday's quarter-final. The victory sends Les Bleus into a semifinal in Dallas on Tuesday against either Spain or Belgium.

The Backstory

France arrived at the quarter-final with the chance to continue a remarkable run at the tournament. Another victory would keep the team on course to become only the third nation to reach three consecutive World Cup finals.

Morocco carried its own recent history into the matchup. France also beat the Atlas Lions 2-0 in the 2022 World Cup semifinal in Qatar, when Morocco became the first African team to reach that stage. This meeting ended with the same score, although the path to France's victory was far from straightforward.

Mbappé was again central to the contest. The French forward entered the game among the tournament's leading scorers and quickly became the main focus of France's attack, first through a major missed opportunity and later through the decisive goal.

Here's What Happened

Mbappé threatened in the fourth minute when his first attempt went just wide. France continued to control the attacking play, and in the 25th minute Noussair Mazraoui brought Mbappé down inside the penalty area. After a lengthy video review, the forward finally took the kick in the 28th minute.

Yassine Bounou read the attempt correctly and caught it. The miss kept Morocco level and became one of the game's defining early moments, especially because France had dominated the first half with a 13-1 advantage in shots.

Morocco's best first-half opening came just before the whistle, when Achraf Hakimi sent a free kick from outside the box past the right post. The Atlas Lions had survived France's pressure, but that resistance ended in the 60th minute.

After Morocco failed to clear the ball, Mbappé collected it outside the area, moved forward and placed his shot inside the far post. It was his eighth goal of the tournament and the 20th World Cup goal of his career, scored in his 20th match at the competition.

Six minutes later, Mbappé received a pass and tapped the ball back to Dembélé. He kept running and drew defenders with him, creating the space Dembélé needed to score his fifth goal of the tournament. France finished with a commanding 21-4 advantage in shots and an 8-1 edge in shots on target.

What People Are Saying

Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi pointed to his team's problems turning possession into effective attacks. France's control of the shooting numbers supported that assessment: Morocco managed only one shot on target across the match.

We are very disappointed. We wanted to go on. When we had ball possession, our transitions were not great and we had to run a little more. Their players were in their comfort zone.

The result also shifted attention back to Mbappé's response after the penalty miss. Rather than allowing the failed attempt to define his night, he produced the winning goal and then created the second.

The Bigger Picture

France's performance showed why the team remains in position to make more World Cup history. The two-goal margin mattered, but the deeper story was the volume of chances: France produced more than five times as many shots as Morocco and allowed only one effort on target.

There was also a brief injury concern. Mbappé was taken down in the 76th minute, substituted a minute later and shown on the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle. After the match, however, he had both shoes on and ran and jumped while celebrating with teammates.

For Canadian viewers, the semifinal now adds another major appointment to the World Cup schedule. France is one victory from a third straight final appearance, while Mbappé's scoring run remains one of the tournament's central individual stories.

The Road Ahead

France will play either Spain or Belgium in Dallas on Tuesday. The opponent will be determined by Friday's match between those two teams.

France enters that semifinal with Mbappé on eight tournament goals and with a place in a third consecutive World Cup final still within reach.