France booked their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals with a comfortable 2-0 win against Morocco, but there was a bit of an injury scare for their captain Kylian Mbappe. The 27-year-old, who completed France's quarter-final victory, was replaced in the 77th minute after appearing to feel he had an ankle injury. Mbappe had already scored the opening goal and set up Ousmane Dembele for the second but he went down clutching his ankle a couple of times during the second half.
Mbappe tried to limp to his feet and was treated on the field. However, Didier Deschamps decided not to play his captain again and replaced him with Jean-Philippe Mateta with 13 minutes left. Even so, there was encouraging news after the final whistle. Mbappe appeared to walk comfortably and enjoyed a kiss after the final whistle from the fans and was seen to smile and shake hands with the fans in the stadium. Mbappe also gave a positive update after the match, calming concerns about the injury before France is due to meet in the semi-final in the middle of the month.
Mbappe had had mixed fortunes early on too. He was saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou after his first-half penalty and his side were level at the end of the first half, but the Atlas Lions went into the break in the same position despite persistent French pressure. France finally came out on top in the 60th minute when Mbappe curled a right-footed strike over Bounou from the edge of the penalty box. The goal turned the momentum towards France. Mbappe provided a bit more help just six minutes later when he slipped a perfectly timed pass to Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembele, who scored from close range to double France's lead, and end Morocco's hopes of another World Cup run.
The win will take Didier Deschamps’ side into the semi-finals against the winner of Friday’s match between European champions Spain and Belgium. Spain will come to the match strong as they have yet to concede a goal in the tournament. They defeated Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the Round of 16 and will be hoping to continue their defensive dominance. Belgium gave one of the best performances of the knockout stage by thrashing the United States 4-1 to make it to the last 8.
On the other side of the bracket, defending champions Argentina will play Switzerland in Kansas City and England will meet Norway in another highly anticipated quarter-final. France will now be hoping Mbappe recovers quickly, as their hopes of winning another World Cup trophy depend heavily on the fitness of their captain and talisman.
