Mbappé, Dembélé Fire France Past Morocco Into World Cup Semi-Finals

Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scored second-half goals as France defeated Morocco 2-0 to book their place in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup.

Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 60th minute before setting up Dembélé six minutes later to seal the victory, ending Morocco's impressive World Cup campaign and keeping France's hopes of a third world title alive.

The Real Madrid forward recovered from an earlier setback after seeing his first-half penalty saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. However, Mbappé redeemed himself with a superb curling strike from the edge of the box to open the scoring.

The goal was his eighth of the tournament, drawing him level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. Mbappé was later substituted after appearing to suffer a minor ankle issue and watched the closing stages with an ice pack on his right ankle.

Before leaving the pitch, the French captain provided the assist for Dembélé, who calmly finished past Bounou to put the result beyond doubt.

The victory sends France into the last four, where Didier Deschamps' side will face either Spain or Belgium in Dallas.

Seeking a third consecutive World Cup final appearance after lifting the trophy in 2018 and finishing runners-up in 2022, France once again demonstrated their quality in the knockout stages, recording a third successive clean sheet.

Morocco enjoyed strong support inside the stadium but struggled to create clear-cut chances, particularly in the absence of injured midfielder Ismael Saibari.

Mbappé continued his remarkable World Cup record, taking his tally to 20 goals in 20 tournament appearances—just one shy of Lionel Messi's overall World Cup record of 21 goals.

France had opportunities to take the lead before halftime, with Bounou producing several important saves, including denying Désiré Doué, while Lucas Digne struck the crossbar with a long-range effort.

After the break, Doué combined with Mbappé to create the opening goal, with the French star using a defender as a screen before curling an unstoppable effort into the net.

Dembélé then added France's second after Mbappé's perfectly weighted pass, capping another dominant display by Les Bleus as they moved within two victories of another World Cup triumph.