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France Is On Fire! World Cup Quarterfinals Heat Up in America
Quick Summary
France defeated Morocco 2-0 on Thursday to reach the World Cup semifinals for the third tournament in a row. Goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé sealed the win. Today, Spain faces Belgium in Los Angeles — and that result is still to come!
What Happened?
The 2026 World Cup is now down to just four teams. On Thursday night in Foxborough, Massachusetts, France played Morocco in the first of four quarterfinal matches. Morocco is a tough, talented squad — but France proved to be too strong.
The first half was tense. France dominated, but Morocco’s goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, made save after save. Mbappé even missed a penalty kick after a long video review delay frustrated the French captain. It was still 0-0 at halftime.
Then France turned up the heat. In the 60th minute, Mbappé found the net with a brilliant finish, putting France ahead. Just six minutes later, Ousmane Dembélé added a second goal to seal the victory. Final score: France 2, Morocco 0.
Mbappé’s goal was his eighth of the tournament, making him the leading scorer in the entire competition. France has now won all six of its matches — and has not given up a single goal in any of the knockout rounds.
For Morocco, the journey is over. But the young Atlas Lions have plenty of exciting players, including 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, who could be a World Cup star for many years to come.
Meanwhile, TODAY is the second quarterfinal: Spain vs. Belgium at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California — home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. Spain has also not given up a single goal all tournament long. Belgium is led by veterans Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. This one promises to be thrilling — check back for the result!
The other two quarterfinals happen Saturday: Norway vs. England, and Argentina vs. Switzerland.
Why Does It Matter?
France making the semifinals for three World Cups in a row is incredibly rare. They won the whole tournament in 2018 and finished as runners-up in 2022. Could they win it all again?
For kids in France, Morocco, and around the world, the World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events on Earth. Over a billion people watch the matches. The semifinal and final rounds, coming up next week, will be some of the most-watched games in history.
Big Words
- Quarterfinal — the round of a tournament where eight teams play down to four; the winners move on to the semifinals
- Penalty kick — a one-on-one shot from a fixed spot, awarded when a foul happens inside the penalty area; only the goalkeeper can stop it
- Knockout round — the stage of a tournament where the losing team is immediately eliminated and goes home
- Semifinal — the second-to-last round; the two winners of the semifinals meet in the final
- Clean sheet — when a team’s goalkeeper does not let the other team score a single goal during a match
Fun Fact
France’s Kylian Mbappé is the captain of the French national team — and he is only 27 years old. He first played in a World Cup at age 19 in 2018, when France won the championship!
Think About It
Morocco became the first African and Arab country to reach a World Cup semifinal back in 2022. What do you think it means for a country when its sports team does something no team from that place has ever done before?
Sources
- NPR — France downs Morocco 2-0 to advance to the World Cup semifinal
- ESPN — Mbappé, France dispatch Morocco with latest lethal display to reach World Cup semis
- CBS Sports — France dispatch Morocco 2-0 to advance to World Cup semifinals