France ends Boston Stadium's run in World Cup with quarterfinal victory
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FOXBORO — Thursday afternoon saw France close this World Cup chapter at Boston Stadium in grand style.
Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé both netted brilliant goals in the second half while Morocco was swept aside. It was something approaching a sequel to the 2022 semifinal meeting between the two nations, one ultimately decided by the same score.
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France departed under warm sunshine with a 2-0 quarterfinal victory and the crowd of 63,811 fans witnessed another argument as to why they now hold firm favorite status in this tournament. Dembélé’s hat trick against Norway during the group stages here offered a first piece of evidence and a return for the knockout rounds proved to be just another step.
“We are in our own bubble here — myself especially,” France manager Didier Deschamps said via translator. “I want to remain calm and collected. But the players have a duty to give everything on the pitch.
“At times, we’re not succeeding, but we have now taken another step today — again reaching the semifinals. And now we’re here.”
Dallas is next for this star-studded squad and a Tuesday meeting with the winner between Spain and Belgium will mark a third straight semifinal appearance. Those two fellow European entries meet Friday, offering France a few extra hours of rest and recovery before their journey resumes.
“We can actually feel the support throughout France,” Dembélé said via a translator. “We’re going to need it for the semifinal and to reach the end.”
“I don’t know if we are on a mission,” Mbappé said via a translator. “But there is only one way for us to release the tension and it’s to get the victory.”
France sealed the result barely six minutes later, and Mbappé again played a part. He broke down the middle and allowed Dembélé to take command some 40 yards from goal, drawing multiple defenders in his wake. Dembélé settled, took a couple of touches to his right and fired a shot toward the post that Bounou couldn’t slow enough with his left hand.
“As we said, they have excellent, quality players at various clubs,” Dembélé said. “We were not surprised by their quality. We knew that they were great.”
“We missed a couple of opportunities,” Deschamps said. “Kylian is never doubting himself.”
Bounou’s save from a Dayot Upamecano header inside the opening five minutes and another off a Doue drive down the middle kept Morocco even early. Lucas Digne hit the crossbar from all of 35 yards just before halftime, another close call while France searched for the opener. Digne’s shot caromed over the top while Bounou scrambled to get a hand on it.
“We know the next game will be even tougher but we are fully ready,” Mbappé said. “We will recover and watch tomorrow’s game to know the opponent.”
Morocco came closest late in the second half when Chemsdine Talbi served in a cross off the left and Upamecano sliced an attempted clearance over his own crossbar. An own goal might have led to a few nervous moments for France but they didn’t come close to conceding otherwise. Mike Maignan’s comfortable save on an Azzedine Ounahi shot from outside the box was his only real moment of jeopardy.
“We will continue our efforts,” Morocco manager Mohamed Ouahbi said via a translator. “We won’t stop there.
“Obviously we are disappointed. We wanted more, but we need to accept.”
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: France ends Boston Stadium's run in World Cup with quarterfinal victory