France Advances to the Semifinals with Authority

The French national team confirmed on this July 9, 2026 that they are one of the great candidates to lift the World Cup trophy by defeating Morocco 2-0 at the Boston stadium (Gillette Stadium), sealing their place as the first semifinalist of the tournament.

The match, which was a replay of the Qatar 2022 semifinal (which also ended 2-0 in favor of the French), showed clear dominance by the Europeans from the first minute. However, the Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou emerged as a key figure by saving a penalty from Kylian Mbappé in the 28th minute of the first half.

The Goals of the French Triumph

• Minute 60: Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring with a spectacular crossed shot after a great play by Desiré Doué.
• Minute 66: Ousmane Dembélé sealed the match with a great finish after driving through the middle against a retreating defense.

Concern for Mbappé

Although he was chosen as the man of the match, Mbappé had to be substituted in the 77th minute. Cameras showed him on the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle. With this goal, the French striker now has 8 goals in the tournament, tying at the top of the scoring chart with Lionel Messi.

Source: CNN en Español and Canchallena. #world-cup-2026