Fantastic France

Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal leading from the front

World Cup aspirants Morocco were given a bitter send off as France produced a clinical display to win their quarter final match 2-0 at the Boston Stadium, USA on Thursday.

Apart from a missed penalty by play-maker Kylian Mbappe in the opening stages of the match, France did not put a foot wrong in their quest to enter a World Cup final for the third time in a row and needed just six minutes to seal the result with two goals early in the second half.

Having booked a date in the semifinals with either Spain or Belgium, France have clearly shown they are one of the favourites to lift the World Cup. According to the experts France is the most attacking team in the 2026 World Cup.

But it was down once again to the man for the occasion Mbappe who missed a penalty but made amends with a surgical-like kick past the Moroccan defence that found the back of the net 15 minutes into the second half.

It was the turning point in the match as France’s well-knit team of players showed Morocco what was needed to face the bigger occasions as the African nation failed to make it to the semifinals which they did in the 2022 World Cup.

Ousmane Dembele made certain the result was a foregone conclusion as he followed up Mbappe’s goal with France’s second strike in the 66th minute leaving no room for Morocco to return to contention.

Overall France’s performance was a cut above that of the Netherlands who were beaten by Morocco in the Round of 32 and there was not the slightest of doubt they would end up on the losing side although both teams went in for the half time break without scoring.

For the team man that he is Mbappe also went further ahead by scoring his eight goal of the 2026 World Cup as he competes against Argentina’s Lionel Messi and the man-on-the-rise Norway’s Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot.

The experts also consider France the team to beat and now the ultimate favourites to win a third World Cup after ending champions in 1998 and 2018.

France were twice European champions and should they meet Spain in the semifinals it will be a case of two Euro winners locked in battle for the ultimate prize in world football.

“We’re talking about a generation of players and when you look at the squad and the attacking players, it is maybe one of the best, because you have so many players - it is so unbelievable,” former France player Patrick Vieira was quoted by ITV Sport as saying.