France are through to the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup after easing past Morocco 2-0 in Boston.
Kylian Mbappe saw his first-half penalty saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, but made amends with a wonderful finish to break the deadlock – and retake the lead in the Golden Boot race.
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Ousmane Dembele then burst through the centre before curling a low finish through Bounou’s hands and into the bottom corner, to wrap up victory.
Here is how the players rated.
France
Mike Maignan, 6: Could have played in slippers.
Jules Kounde, 6: Made some game runs down the right side to stretch the Moroccan defence.
William Saliba, 6: Typically unflustered.
Dayot Upamecano, 5: Might have done a bit better with his header early in the first half, and almost scored a wild own goal in the second.
Lucas Digne, 7: Hit the bar with a fizzing shot and offered a useful threat down the left.
Adrien Rabiot, 7: Comfortable keeping France ticking in midfield and defensively key, making three interceptions.
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Manu Kone, 6: Made some strong challenges to prevent Morocco offering anything on the break.
Ousmane Dembele, 8: Some smart passes and took his chance when it came in the second half, albeit with some help from Bounou.
Michael Olise, 7: One or two electric moments including a clever piece of footwork to set Mbappe through on goal during the second half.
Desire Doue, 6: Bright and sharp on the ball but lacked end product. Couldn’t convert his opportunity when driving to the edge of the box in the first half.
Kylian Mbappe, 7: Missed a penalty but made up for it with a beautiful finish, finding the inside of the post with power and precision to break the deadlock.
Kylian Mbappe fires home France’s first goal (Getty)
Substitutes: Zaire-Emery, 5; Mateta, 5; Barcola, 6; Gusto, 5.
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Morocco
Yassine Bounou, 7: A good penalty save among several important stops, but made a mistake allowing Dembele’s shot to slide past him.
Achraf Hakimi, 6: A decent display by the Moroccan captain including a feisty battle with his former teammate Mbappe.
Noussair Mazraoui, 4: Gave away a penalty with a mistimed challenge after falling for Mbappe’s quick feet.
Issa Diop, 5: Booked the second half for a rough bodycheck on Mbappe.
Anass Salah-Eddine; 5: A difficult assignment at full-back but did OK to keep Dembele relatively quiet.
Ayyoub Bouaddi, 5: The teenager wasn’t able to show his talent on this occasion.
Ayyoub Bouaddi is held off by Manu Kone (Getty)
Neil El Aynaoui, 6: Recorded three tackles and a block, and covered plenty of ground.
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Azzedine Ounahi, 7: Made a couple of tackles and was the one attempting to get Morocco playing in midfield, even if it was ultimately without much success.
Chemsdine Talbi, 4: Had few opportunities to get on the ball and gave the ball away a few too many times.
Bilal El Khannouss, 5: A quiet game.
Brahim Diaz, 6: Bright the ball as ever, but Morocco missed the injured Ismael Saibari here to act as a real focal point.
Substitutes: Rahimi, 5; Amrabat 5; El Ouahdi, 5; Yassine, 5; Sbai, 5.
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