Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé fire France into World Cup semifinals with win over Morocco

Former U.S. men's team defender Jonathan Bornstein discusses FIFA's controversial decision to reverse Balogun's red card suspension, allowing him to play in the critical World Cup Round of 16 match. Bornstein explains why the call was ‘proper,’ contrasting it with the Norway coach's criticism.

For the second straight World Cup, France has sent Morocco home with a 2-0 victory.

In 2022, it was a historic semifinal as Morocco became the first-ever African team to reach that stage of the tournament. But France defeated Morocco to reach the World Cup Final in Qatar.

Four years later, history repeated itself in the quarterfinals, and Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scored second-half goals to send France back to the semifinals.

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Kylian Mbappé of France celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during a FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal match against Morocco at Boston Stadium July 9, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images)

France awaits the winner of Spain and Belgium, who face off Friday at 3 p.m. ET in Los Angeles.

Much like Paraguay in the Round of 16 against France, Morocco was clearly focusing on its defense, making sure the likes of Mbappé didn’t have easy lanes to score.

It was working to start the match, though France was immediately on the offensive and stayed there throughout. However, Morocco faltered when a foul was committed in its own box, forcing a penalty kick.

KYLIAN MBAPPÉ'S SEVENTH GOAL OF THE WORLD CUP LIFTS FRANCE PAST PARAGUAY IN PHYSICAL ROUND OF 16 MATCH

Mbappé stepped right up to the ball, but the head referee was waiting for the signal to see if a VAR check was needed before the penalty could be taken. The referee called it