France book first semifinal ticket

France and Morocco met in the World Cup quarterfinal. France won the contest, played at Gillette Stadium in Boston, 2-0, becoming the first team to reach the semifinal. The match, which began as one of the most tightly contested of the tournament, was decided by France's superiority in the second half.

Kylian Mbappé was involved in the most critical moment of the match in the 27th minute. Taking the penalty won after a foul by Noussair Mazraoui, the French star saw his effort saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. However, this misfortune did not diminish Mbappé's impact on the game. In the 60th minute, the star player skillfully beat Issa Diop and curled the ball into the corner to open the scoring. This goal was Mbappé's 20th career World Cup goal, bringing him to within one of Lionel Messi's all-time record of 21, and levelling him with Messi at 8-8 for the tournament's goal tally.

Mbappé also played a decisive role in the second goal, which came six minutes later. Playing the ball first to Ousmane Dembélé after Michael Olise's forward pass, the French star then took the ball back, dragged Morocco's defense with him, and gave it back to Dembélé. The French winger found the net with a clean finish to make it 2-0; it was Dembélé's fifth goal of the tournament.

Mbappé was substituted off in the 77th minute due to a problem with his right foot. However, the French star walked off the pitch under his own power and waved to the crowd, easing concerns somewhat about his condition. Morocco's top scorer, Ismael Saibari, being unable to play in this match due to a hamstring injury, stood out as a significant absence for the North African side.

With this win, France maintained their status as the only team to win all six of their matches at the tournament without needing extra time. Also becoming only the third nation ever to reach three consecutive semifinals, France's opponent in the semifinal will be the winner of the Spain-Belgium quarterfinal.

Image: BBC