France vs Morocco FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final Live Updates: Four years after their World Cup semi-final in Qatar 2022, France and Morocco meet again tonight, this time in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Still reeling from that semi-final defeat, Morocco will hope to hold off the all-conquering French side this time around. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe continues his quest for another Golden Boot after being the top scorer at the last World Cup. He is currently on seven goals, one more than Lionel Messi.
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Here is France’s starting XI: Mignon; Kaunde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Cone, Rabiot; Olisse, Dembele, Dew; Mbappe. And here’s how the Moroccans line up: Bouno, Hakimi, Diop, Mazrouei, Salah Edin, El Aynooui, Bouaddi, Onahi, Talbi, Diaz, El Khannoous.
France are bidding to become only the third country to reach three consecutive FIFA World Cup finals, joining Germany and Brazil. In 2022, Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Scroll down to read real-time updates from the FIFA World Cup between France and Morocco
High-flying France shows can also be fashionably ugly
France’s Kylian Mbappe (10) scores the third goal with Michel Olisse (11) during the World Cup Round of 32 soccer match between France and Sweden on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in East Rutherford, NJ near New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
The gloriously multi-faceted French know many ways to kill a pesky cat that disturbs their sleep. They could startle them with their touch; They can seduce them with their wits; They can pin them with their muscles; They can play the piano, they can even wield a sledgehammer, making them one of the deadliest propositions in the competition. A 1-0 win over Paraguay in the quarter-finals was a triumph for his Browns, his ability to outmaneuver men trying to wrestle, sometimes literally, and sometimes harming him with a brand of cynicism that strangely went unpunished.
Wins because they don’t create an aura; But create an irresistible energy that makes them feel unbreakable; That even extreme tactics cannot shake them. It was not France’s inability to score more goals in a game that Thierry Henry commented, “football won in the end”, but their tools and knowledge of how to nullify any strategy thrown at them. Kylian Mbappe, who scored the only goal after a Dzire Dover penalty, had his eyes burning with glee: “They thought we were going down in tuxedos, but we know how to play rough football — and we were still better than them!” The earlier line was a warning to the world: “We’ve shown that we’re not just a football team; if we have to put our hands in s—, we’ll put our hands in s—.”