France beat Morocco 2-0 in Boston on July 9, 2026, to book a spot in the World Cup semi-finals. Kylian Mbappé scored in the 60th minute and Ousmane Dembélé added a second in the 66th, according to ESPN.

The scoreline undersells how one-sided it was. France racked up 3.04 expected goals to Morocco's 0.14, and outshot them 22 to 5, per ESPN's match data. This wasn't a close game that France won late. It was a team playing a different sport for 90 minutes.

That gap matters because France is no longer just a good team having a good tournament. They've won five straight World Cup games for the first time in their history and reached their third consecutive semi-final, ESPN reported. And the man leading it, Mbappé, is now one goal away from rewriting World Cup history.

Mbappé closes in on Messi

Mbappé missed a first-half penalty against Morocco, then made up for it with a goal and an assist. That took him to 20 World Cup goals in his career, one behind Lionel Messi on the all-time list, per ESPN's tournament stats. Eleven of those 19 have come in knockout matches, extending his lead over Brazil's Ronaldo for the most World Cup knockout goals ever. He has also moved clear at the top for World Cup knockout goals, with 12. That is not just a scoring run anymore. It is a record chase happening in real time.

Missing a penalty and still walking off as the best player on the pitch is, at this point, a Mbappé signature. If Mbappé scores again, and Messi does not extend his own tally before then, the all-time World Cup scoring record could become shared history.

Why France looks unstoppable

The numbers back the eye test. France had scored 13 goals in their first four matches and had reached 14 before the Morocco quarter-final. After beating Morocco 2-0, that total climbed again.t, more than any other team by the quarter-final stage, according to beIN Sports. Mbappé and Dembélé have become France’s most dangerous attacking pair at this tournament, with Mbappé leading the scoring charge and Dembélé adding goals, movement and service from the right, a strike-partnership output that hasn't been matched by any duo in 60 years, per Sports Mole.

What sets this France side apart isn't just Mbappé. It's the depth behind him. Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué give Didier Deschamps four or five players capable of deciding a match on their own, a squad described as having the best attack in the world right now.

The chemistry and the individual brilliance combined is just so difficult to stop when they're in full flow.

Yahoo Sports put it plainly in its tournament roundup: France is rolling through the World Cup with relative ease, while rivals like Argentina, Spain and England are getting past weaker opponents by the skin of their teeth, per Yahoo Sports. That contrast, comfortable wins versus scrappy ones, is exactly why France has become the team everyone else is measured against.

Morocco ran out of answers

Morocco's problem was personnel, not effort. Morocco’s problem was not effort. It was attacking sharpness. Reuters reported before kickoff that Morocco were without injured forward Ismael Saibari, with Brahim Diaz starting as the lone forward, the Atlas Lions had to lean on Brahim Diaz, Soufiane Rahimi and Ayoub El Kaabi, per Yahoo Sports. Against a France defence protecting a rampant attack, that wasn't enough. As TUI reported ahead of kickoff in its quarter-final preview, Morocco's route past France always depended on containing Mbappé and Hakimi's battle down the flank. That containment never came.

Watch: France vs Morocco quarter-final highlights (FOX Sports)

What's next

France now waits to learn its semi-final opponent, carrying a five-game World Cup winning streak and a front line that has outscored every other side left in the tournament. Mbappé needs one more goal to draw level with Messi. Given how this France side has played, nobody expects him to wait long.