France has secured a spot in the semifinals of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, defeating Morocco in a rematch of their tournament encounter four years ago.

In the quarterfinal match held at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 10 (KST), France defeated Morocco 2-0, thanks to consecutive goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele in the second half.

France, a two-time World Cup champion (1998, 2018) and runner-up in the previous 2022 Qatar tournament, demonstrated its strength by reaching the semifinals for the third consecutive tournament.

France, which faced Morocco in the semifinals of the Qatar tournament, secured a 2-0 victory just as they did back then.

France will compete for a spot in the final at Dallas Stadium in the United States on July 15 against the winner of the Spain-Belgium match (scheduled for July 11).

Morocco, which caused a sensation in the Qatar tournament by finishing fourth—the best result in its World Cup history—was blocked by France once again and concluded its journey in the quarterfinals this time.

France started with Mbappe, who is competing for the top scorer title, at the forefront, and deployed Desire Doue, Michael Olise, and Dembele in the second line.

Morocco faced France led by Brahim Diaz, while striker Ismael Saibari, who had scored three goals in this tournament, was sidelined due to a hamstring injury.

France's offensive was intense from the start, but several attempts, including a mid-range shot by Mbappe in the 4th minute and a header by Dayot Upamecano, were blocked by Morocco's "iron wall" goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

France had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 25th minute when Mbappe earned a penalty kick following a foul by Noussair Mazraoui.

Mbappe stepped up as the kicker, but his right-footed shot, taken after a slight delay due to a video assistant referee (VAR) review, was saved by Bounou.

Morocco struggled to utilize its signature counterattacks and failed to create significant chances, but Bounou also saved a quick right-footed shot from Doue in the center of the penalty area during a counterattack in the 35th minute, ending the first half in a scoreless tie.

However, France finally succeeded in penetrating the goal in the second half.

Mbappe, who had bowed his head after missing the penalty kick in the first half, gave France the lead with a "redemption goal" in the 15th minute of the second half.

Receiving a pass from Doue, Mbappe fired a brilliant right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area past Moroccan defender Issa Rayane Diop, finding the back of the net.

With his 8th goal of the tournament, Mbappe tied with Lionel Messi (Argentina) for the lead in the top scorer race, and his total World Cup goal tally reached 20, trailing the all-time leader Messi (21 goals) by just one.

Mbappe extended his own record for the most goals scored in World Cup knockout stages to 12.

France secured the victory in the 21st minute of the second half when Dembele scored an additional goal with a right-footed mid-range shot from the penalty arc.

With a two-goal lead and the victory all but assured past the 30th minute of the second half, France substituted Mbappe, who sat on the pitch showing slight discomfort in his leg, with Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 32nd minute, and replaced Doue with Bradley Barcola.

In the 42nd minute, as the win was cemented, they finished the match with relaxed management by substituting full-back Jules Kounde with Malo Gusto.

(Photo: Yonhap News)