FOXBOROUGH, Mass.—The French national team had every reason to be frustrated. The most talented collection of players at this World Cup was stuck in the heat of Foxborough, trying to find a way through Morocco, and getting absolutely nowhere.
Kylian Mbappé missed a penalty. Ousmane Dembélé looked bored. And a wall of red jerseys seemed to stretch all the way across the field.
But that’s when Les Bleus tapped into the same French patience that gave the world art house cinema, endless summer lunches, and the collected works of Marcel Proust. The reward was in the waiting. After an hour of their subdued quarterfinal, France proved once again that no one in world soccer can control a game quite like they do.
A pair of goals in the space of six minutes silenced the heavily Moroccan crowd, gave France a 2-0 victory and guaranteed that they would be in the World Cup’s final four for the third consecutive time. It will now face the winner of Friday’s match between Belgium and Spain.
What makes France so menacing to any other team left in this World Cup is how total its control can be. Though the side didn’t dominate possession against Morocco, it never looked in the slightest trouble. The French took 21 shots to Morocco’s four and haven’t conceded a single goal in more than three matches, or five hours of play, dating back to the group stage in late June.
“They have incredibly talented players up front—and they run,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi. “They don’t get frustrated, and they want to go all the way.”
So opponents aren’t left with much choice other than to sit deep, hold firm, and hope to manufacture something on the break. France, meanwhile, has the confidence to bide its time and know that the opening will come eventually.
“We concede very few chances,” head coach Didier Deschamps said. “And we’re able to asphyxiate our opponents.”
That said, it’s easier to be patient when you know that players such as Mbappé, Dembélé, and Désiré Doué are capable of magic at any moment. Which is precisely what they uncorked to open the scoring.
Doué brought down a high ball, poked it through a defender’s legs, and then laid it off to Mbappé in the box. The 27-year-old then picked his spot and curled in a shot at the far post to notch his eighth goal of this tournament, tying him with Argentina’s Lionel Messi for the lead. Mbappé now has 20 career World Cup goals in 20 games.
His tally could have been even higher if he hadn’t botched a 28th-minute penalty. France was awarded a spot kick after Mbappé was tripped in the area, but a lengthy video review left him stewing for 3 minutes 11 seconds before he could actually shoot. And once he did, he struck a soft, low effort that goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved easily to his left.
Mbappé wasn’t satisfied. And he won’t be until his team is in the final.
Write to Joshua Robinson at Joshua.Robinson@wsj.com
