France beat Morocco 2-0 on Thursday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, closing out a World Cup quarterfinal that doubled as a grudge match, and now the French have five days to think about the opponent coming next.
The semifinal is locked in for Tuesday, July 14, at 3 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, outside Dallas, where France will meet the winner of Friday’s Spain-Belgium quarterfinal, kicking off at 3 p.m. ET at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
France’s Path Runs Through Spain or Belgium
Thursday’s meeting with Morocco carried some old business. France beat the Atlas Lions 2-0 in the 2022 tournament’s semifinal in Qatar, and Thursday’s rematch pitted Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola, the sharpest attacking unit left in the field, against a Moroccan side built to absorb pressure and strike on the counter.
Mbappé entered the day one goal off the tournament’s Golden Boot pace, chasing a record no player has managed: winning the award in back-to-back World Cups. France got there by winning all five matches without needing extra time, a feat only a handful of teams have managed this deep into the tournament.
Morocco arrived unbeaten in 34 straight matches, having eliminated the Netherlands on penalties before routing Canada 3-0. That didn’t stop France assistant coach Guy Stephan from sizing up the challenge beforehand. “It’s undeniably a quality team,” Stephan said, as quoted by Al Jazeera. He added that Morocco carries individual strengths on both flanks, calling the French side’s win over Paraguay in the previous round a test of composure under pressure.
Whoever comes out of Friday’s Spain-Belgium quarterfinal in Los Angeles will bring a very different look. Spain has yet to concede a single goal all tournament, controlling matches with patient possession while waiting for winger Lamine Yamal to round into form.
Belgium plays the opposite way, leaning on the physical, direct approach that flattened co-host United States, 4-1, in the round of 16.
Spain would demand France solve a possession puzzle for 90 minutes. Belgium would try to drag the French into a rougher, more direct fight and pounce in transition. Either way, France remains the tournament’s most balanced team, having outscored opponents 14-2 across five matches heading into Thursday.
The Road to the Final Runs Through Four Contenders
Win in Dallas, and France would reach the July 19 final at New York/New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, facing whoever emerges from the tournament’s other half on July 15 in Atlanta.
That side would arrive from a bracket loaded with individual firepower. Norway’s Erling Haaland has scored in every match he’s played this tournament, a run that already includes a brace against Brazil. England counters with Jude Bellingham, whose midfield brilliance carried England past Mexico.
Argentina, the defending champion, keeps advancing on the strength of Lionel Messi, who has been directly involved in nine of his team’s 13 goals despite the reigning champions trailing in three straight knockout matches, according to ESPN. Switzerland offers the opposite formula, with no individual star, but a disciplined structure built around set pieces that already carried the Swiss past Colombia on penalties, reaching a first quarterfinal since Switzerland hosted the tournament in 1954.
France won’t worry about any of that until Dallas is settled. For now, the attention turns west, to Inglewood, where Spain and Belgium will decide who stands in the way Tuesday.
Who Does France Play Next? World Cup Semifinal Date, Opponent, Time