France Stop Morocco’s World Cup Run with 2-0 Win to Reach Semi-Finals 

By Victor Idajili

France ended Morocco’s World Cup journey on Thursday with a 2-0 quarter-final victory, booking their place in the semi-finals and keeping alive their bid for another world title.

The match, played at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, saw the Atlas Lions bow out after another historic campaign.

Morocco came into the game as the last African team standing, buoyed by earlier wins over the Netherlands and Canada. But they ran into a composed French side that grew stronger as the game went on.

France dominated possession from the start but were held back in the first half when Kylian Mbappé missed a penalty against Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

The breakthrough finally came in the 60th minute. Mbappé picked up the ball on the edge of the box and curled a precise shot past Bounou to put France ahead.

Six minutes later it was 2-0. Ousmane Dembélé finished low to double the lead and put Didier Deschamps’ men firmly in control.

Morocco tried to fight back through Achraf Hakimi, Azzedine Ounahi and Brahim Diaz, but France’s disciplined defence held firm and denied them clear chances. The French also kept another clean sheet in the knockout rounds.

With the win, France advance to the semi-finals after also knocking out Paraguay in the previous round. They remain in contention for back-to-back World Cup titles.