France reaches the 3rd consecutive World Cup Semi-finals as they defeat Morocco

By: Mario Amaya 

Foxborough, MA- On December 14th, 2022, France and Morocco faced off in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to decide who would play in the final of that Tournament against Argentina in the city of Lusail. On that occasion, France, who were the defending World Cup champion at the time, defeated Morocco, who became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals, by the score of 2-0.  

Four years later, both teams would meet once again in a deciding stage of the World Cup. This time, both teams would meet at Boston Stadium in the first quarter-final match of the World Cup and decide who would be the first semi-finalist of the tournament. 

Just like the match four years ago in the city of Al Khor, Le Bleu would come out victorious against the Atlas Lions by the same scoreline, 2-0. 

The Game

France started looking to open up the scoring early, as Kylian Mbappé had the first real goal-scoring chance in the 4th minute with a shot from distance that went bouncing towards the lower left-hand side of the goal, which forced Yassine “Bono” Bounou to make a diving save and send the ball out for a corner kick. In the ensuing corner kick, the ball would fall to Ousmane Dembélé, who sent a cross inside the box to Dayot Upamecano. The Bayern Munich center-back got his head to the end of the cross, sending the ball towards goal, forcing Bono to make a save once again, keeping the French off the score sheet. 

France would win a penalty in the 24th minute after Michael Olise crossed the midfield line with the ball, playing a through ball to the left-hand side to Mbappé, who charged towards the box. Mbappé would be taken down inside the box by Noussair Mazraoui, who was trailing Mbappé on the play, prompting the referee to blow the whistle and call a penalty in favor of the French. 

Mbappé would step up and take the penalty kick, but his shot was easily read by Bono, who guessed the direction of the Real Madrid star’s spot kick and dove to his right, keeping the ball secured in his hands to avoid a rebound Mbappé his 8th goal of the World Cup. 

Bono would be called into action once again in the 34th minute, as PSG star Désiré Doué charged inside the box with the ball and shot the ball towards the goal, but the Al Hilal goalkeeper denied Doué and sent the ball out of play for a corner kick. France would have one more opportunity to go into halftime with the lead, with a Lucas Digne shot from distance that hit the crossbar. 

France would open up the scoring in the 60th minute. Adrien Rabiot stripped the ball off a Moroccan defender and laid it off to Doué, who sent a cross into the box that was cleared away by Mazraoui. The clearance would fall to Rabiot, who headed the ball in the direction of Doué, who laid the ball off to Mbappé, who took a curling shot from the edge of the box, as his attempt would settle in the lower right corner of Bono’s net, scoring his 8th goal of the tournament, tying Argentina’s Lionel Messi at the top of the goal-scoring table and notching his 20th goal all-time in World Cups. 

France would seal their victory six minutes later, as Olise connected with Mbappé in the middle of the field, and Mbappé played to Dembélé, who took the ball and charged down the field with Mbappé and Doué following the play. The PSG man and current Ballon d’Or holder took a shot from distance that went past Bono and into the lower right angle of the net for his 5th goal of the World Cup, sealing France’s ticket to the semi-finals.

Morocco would have an opportunity late to get on the score sheet after Achraf Hakimi played a short free kick to Azzedine Ounahi, who took a shot from outside the box, forcing a save from French goalkeeper Mike Maignan. 

France now qualifies for their third straight World Cup semi-final, doing so in both 2018 and 2022. On both occasions, France advanced to the final, winning the title in 2018 and losing in 2022.

France awaits the winner of the quarterfinal match between Spain and Belgium to find out who their opponent will be in the semi-finals. That match will take place in Dallas, TX, on Tuesday, July 14th.