France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the World Cup Quarter-Finals at the Boston Stadium to officially secure their third consecutive semifinal appearance. The reigning football powerhouse broke through a stubborn defensive wall in the second half to keep their tournament hopes alive.
Morocco entered the match utilizing a highly organized low-block strategy that completely frustrated the French attack early on. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou kept the game scoreless going into halftime after successfully saving a penalty kick from Kylian Mbappé.
But the French forward quickly found his redemption. Mbappé opened the scoring in the 60th minute. The strike made history, cementing him as the first player to be involved in 100 goals for the French national team. He is now tied with Lionel Messi as the top scorer of the current tournament with eight goals.
Just six minutes later, Ousmane Dembélé ended any hopes of a Moroccan comeback. He fired a clean strike from outside the box to bypass the defense and push the lead to 2-0.
France will now advance to face the winner of the Spain versus Belgium matchup in the semifinals.