France cruise into semi-finals as Deschamps eyes third final

France became the first nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals after a commanding 2-0 victory over Morocco on Thursday in Boston. The win reinforced their status as tournament favorites, with goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele in a six-minute second-half spell.

World Cup winners in 1998 and 2018, France have built another formidable team under manager Didier Deschamps, who has announced this will be his final tournament in charge. If they lift the trophy on 19 July, they could lay claim to being the best Les Bleus side ever.

Dominant display against Morocco

France outclassed Morocco, registering 22 attempts to Morocco's five. The Atlas Lions managed only one shot on target, in the 83rd minute. Mbappe opened the scoring after having a first-half penalty saved, and Dembele doubled the lead shortly after.

Mbappe's goal was his eighth of the tournament, tying him with Argentina's Lionel Messi for top scorer. Mbappe leads the Golden Boot race on assists. Dembele now has five goals, making France only the second team in 50 years to have two players with five or more goals in a single World Cup, after Brazil in 2002 (Ronaldo eight, Rivaldo five).

Praise from pundits and former players

Former France midfielder Patrick Vieira, who played in the 1998 final, told ITV Sport: "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 Scotland striker Pat Nevin said on BBC Radio 5 Live: "France are the best, most skilful, most dangerous attacking team in the tournament. They have more than one [threat]. They have two, three, four that are capable."

Ian Wright, the former England striker, called Deschamps' side "one of the most clear favourites for a World Cup tournament I have ever seen" before the Morocco match. After the win, he added: "It is difficult to see the weakness."

Deschamps' legacy and potential semi-final opponent

Deschamps has managed France since 2012, winning the 2018 World Cup and reaching the 2022 final, where they lost to Argentina. Les Bleus also lost the 2016 European Championship final to Portugal and were beaten by Spain in the Euro 24 semi-finals.

If Spain beat Belgium in their quarter-final on Friday, they will face France in Dallas on Tuesday. Spain began the tournament ranked second in the world, behind Argentina, while France were third. Spain have reached the quarter-finals without conceding a goal, but Vieira expects France to prevail.

"Before the competition, we were all convinced that Spain would be in the semi-final or the quarter-final," Vieira said. "I think France will not have any kind of issues playing against them. France are a better team today than they were four years ago, but I don't think Spain are a better team today than they were four years ago. I don't see anybody stopping the French team going to the final."