World Cup Daily: France looks unstoppable

Is there any stopping France at the FIFA World Cup? 

The French made it six wins from six games with a convincing 2-0 victory over Morocco on Thursday in Boston, setting up a semifinal showdown next week in Dallas against either Spain or Belgium. 

Kylian Mbappé found the net again – surprise, surprise – to take his tournament tally to eight, tying him with Lionel Messi for first place in the race for the Golden Boot. Mbappé’s goal-scoring heroics and France’s attacking prowess have garnered the majority of the headlines as the French have qualified for the semifinals for a third straight time. 

But Les Bleus’ back line, anchored by Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba, has played just as important a role in their run to the semifinals. France has conceded just two goals in its six games and has registered four clean sheets, including three in a row. Didier Deschamps’s side has not conceded a goal in 339 consecutive minutes and has yet to trail in this tournament. 

Here’s what happened on Thursday at the World Cup. 

Tame Morocco bows out without much of a fight 

Let’s be clear right from the start: France deserved to win this game, dominating every major statistical category (except possession, which was 52 percent in Morocco’s favour – in giving the African champions a footballing lesson. 

At the same time, France was helped along by Morocco’s dour tactics and tame display, opting to defend in a deep block and absorb pressure, rather than showing any genuine attacking initiative. “Fortune favours the brave” is a very popular football idiom, but Morocco was anything but brave on this day. They played like timid children, fearful of getting pushed around on the playground by the school bully. 

France took advantage of Morocco’s passivity, dropping back in a mid-low block itself and allowing the Africans to have a bit more of the ball. Even with better possession numbers, Morocco barely threatened to score; France ably defended their box and looked completely untroubled when the Africans did venture forward in attack. The French were more than happy to patiently sit back and attempt to hurt Morocco in moments of transition.  

In showing France far too much respect, Morocco – which is ranked No. 7 in the world, lest we forget – was essentially doomed from the start of the match, as it was only a matter of time before it would be breached by Les Bleus’ awe-inspiring attack. The Africans held on and got to the halftime break tied at 0-0, but their attempts to defensively thwart the French came to an end when Kylian Mbappé found the back of the net on the hour mark and Ousmane Dembélé added a second goal six minutes later.  

It’s just as possible that France could’ve inflicted more damage had Morocco tried to open things up. But we’ll never know because their lack of bravery on the day doomed them from the start.

With the game tied at 0-0, a special moment was needed to break the deadlock – and it came in the 60th minute. Kylian Mbappé took a simple pass from teammate Désiré Doué and, with Issa Diop tight to him at the edge of the box, the Real Madrid forward bent a gorgeous curler around the Morocco defender and just inside the far post. 

Kylian Mbappé wasn’t even distracted when a red balloon found its way onto the pitch during the first half: 

The Moroccan shot stopper is making a strong case to be named to the tournament’s Best XI: 

1. Kylian Mbappé (France): The French forward atoned for his poor penalty in the first half by scoring the game-winner and then collecting an assist on France’s second goal.  

2. Désiré Doué (France): A creative force for his country, Doué supplied the pass that led to Mbappé’s goal. Beyond that, he was a nuisance to Morocco’s back line with his pinpoint passing.  

3. Ousmane Dembélé (France): He scored the second goal that sealed the win for the French, capping off a performance that saw him put Morocco’s defence under constant pressure.