France beat Morocco 2-0 in a World Cup quarterfinal on Thursday and moved a step closer to another title run, with Kylian Mbappé deciding the match after Yassine Bounou had already denied him from the spot. Mbappé missed a first-half penalty, then scored France’s first goal on the hour mark and set up Ousmane Dembélé six minutes later to seal it.
That was the kind of late surge that has made France look dangerous even when the game is not going cleanly at the start. Morocco kept the score level through the first half, but France’s depth told after the break, and the final result again showed why this side can win without leaning on one player for every moment.
Bounou was the man who nearly changed the night. He saved Mbappé’s penalty and kept Morocco alive long enough to make France work for the win, but once the loose ball fell to Désiré Doué and was nudged into Mbappé’s path, the game shifted. From there, France’s response was immediate: one goal on the hour mark, another six minutes later, and Morocco was out.
The result also fits a broader pattern that separates this France team from most World Cup favorites. In 2018, France looked like the best team throughout the competition and won the tournament. That is rare. Germany looked stronger than Spain in 2010 before Spain won the semifinal 1-0. The Netherlands were probably the strongest team overall in 2014 before losing to Argentina in the semifinals. In 2022, France and Argentina were not separated by much at all in the final. A team can look dominant and still not finish the job.
France has had that same issue at times in this tournament: not enough early leads, even while the roster has kept piling up options. Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano and Bradley Barcola are all part of a squad with enough talent to change a match from anywhere. Mbappé remains central, but Thursday was another reminder that France do not need one player to carry them alone.
The bigger question now is whether this version of France can turn control into a title, not just into a convincing win. If the pattern holds, the next opponent will have to survive the same thing Morocco could not: a side that can wait, absorb pressure and then finish a match in a few ruthless minutes.
