Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were on target as France surged past Morocco 2-0 to book their place in the World Cup semifinals.
Mbappe scored his eighth goal of the tournament in the 60th minute before Dembele added a second six minutes later, sealing France’s clinical win at Gillette Stadium near Boston.
The win sends the 2018 champions into a last-four showdown against either Spain or Belgium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.
African champions Morocco had been tipped to pose a serious threat to France’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final.
France dominated from start to finish as Didier Deschamps’ side comfortably beat Morocco, who managed just one shot on target, a late free-kick saved by Mike Maignan.
France, though, struggled to find a breakthrough, and missed the opportunity to take the lead on 28 minutes when Mbappe saw a penalty saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Mbappe had won the penalty after being brought down by Noussair Mazraoui but was forced to wait several minutes before being allowed to take the kick after a protracted VAR check.
Morocco managed to hold out to half-time, but it was always only a matter of time before France’s relentless pressure paid off.
The breakthrough came on the hour mark, with Mbappe bending a brilliant right-foot shot past Bounou from the edge of the area.
Dembele made the game safe in the 66th minute, striding forward menacingly from midfield before steering a low finish into the bottom corner.
France now await the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.
