France downs Morocco 2-0 to advance to the World Cup semifinal
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By Russell Lewis, Jasmine Garsd

Thursday, July 9, 2026 • 6:01 PM EDT

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It was billed as a battle of the World Cup heavyweights, and it looked close for a half.

A rematch of the 2022 World Cup semifinal: France, the 2018 champion and 2022 runner-up , against Morocco, the Cinderella from four years ago, and the first Arab and African nation to reach a semifinal. But Morocco could do no better than the quarterfinals this year — losing to France 2-0.

It did not take long for France to go on the attack. In the fourth minute, striker Kylian Mbappé just missed putting Les Bleus up early with a shot that zipped by the left post. France dominated much of the first half, preventing Morocco from even taking a shot until stoppage time at the end.

The best first-half opportunity for France came in the 25th minute. Mbappé was tackled near the Morocco goal and won a penalty kick.

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