Mbappe Shines, Dembele Seals Victory as France Ease Past Morocco to Reach World Cup Semifinals

In Thursday's World Cup quarterfinal, France eliminated Morocco in relatively comfortable fashion, advancing to the semifinals. Throughout the match, the French defense faced little pressure, with the team relying more on the formidable individual quality up front to break the deadlock. Captain Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring with a highly impressive finish, before Ousmane Dembele added the decisive blow, completely extinguishing any hopes of a Moroccan comeback. With this victory, France further cemented their status as strong contenders for the trophy. Below are the player ratings and performance analysis for the French side in this match.

Didier Deschamps receives an 8/10 for this match. The French manager remained calm throughout, showing no urgency to make changes, instead trusting his starting lineup to find the breakthrough. Meanwhile, he has now coached 25 World Cup matches, equaling the all-time record.

Mike Maignan is rated 6/10. With Morocco posing limited attacking threat, the French goalkeeper had virtually nothing to do in the first half, spending most of the game as a spectator. It wasn't until the final five minutes that he had to stay alert for a sharp, angled shot from Azzedine Ounahi.

Jules Kounde earns a 7/10. Compared to usual, he wasn't as prominent in pushing forward on the right flank, but his defensive work was clean and solid, with consistent passing quality and tidy, simple combinations with the players ahead of him.

William Saliba also gets 7/10. He looked slightly shaky early on, with a few errant passes causing some concern, but quickly settled and showed no major issues thereafter. Given Morocco's lack of attacking firepower, he wasn't subjected to many truly stern tests.

Dayot Upamecano receives 7/10. Early in the match, he came close with a powerful header that tested Bounou, who made a fine save. In the second half, he had a momentary lapse in concentration leading to a clearance error, but aside from that, his overall display was robust and composed.

Lucas Digne is awarded 8/10, one of the standout performers on the French left flank. His link-up with Desire Doue was fluid, frequently creating numerical advantages down the wing. Digne was constantly eager to push forward and support the attack, impressing with his ball retention. In the first half, he struck the crossbar with a powerful shot, coming agonizingly close to scoring.

Adrien Rabiot gets 7/10. He nearly made a costly error early on, but Morocco failed to capitalize. Thereafter, Rabiot grew into the game, dictating the tempo in midfield, winning all his ground duels, and shifting possession smoothly.

Manu Kone is rated 7/10. Starting in place of the injured Aurelien Tchouameni, he delivered a satisfactory performance. Several Premier League clubs have been linked with him this week, and his physicality and reading of the game in midfield will surely have impressed those suitors. In the first half, a crucial interception on Brahim Diaz thwarted a dangerous Moroccan attack; though his influence waned slightly in the second period, his overall display was still bright, and he has a strong case to retain his spot in the semifinal lineup.

Michael Olise receives 7/10. While his performance hasn't reached headline-grabbing heights, he was involved in much of France's attacking play. He showcased his technical ability on the ball and consistently sought to dictate the rhythm; when Morocco dropped deep, he helped maintain the pressure by drawing fouls and linking up play.

Desire Doue earns 8/10. He was in excellent form in the first half, unleashing his trademark dribbling whenever given space. He won a tackle against the highly-rated Bouadi and forced a save from Bounou. After the break, the young winger continued to drive forward with the ball, and his delicate lobbed pass set up Mbappe's opening goal. Around the 60th minute, he had a chance to score himself but was denied by Bounou. Based on this display, Doue is fully deserving of being in contention for France's man of the match.

Ousmane Dembele is rated 7/10. With France's attacking focus more on Doue and Mbappe, he was largely inconspicuous for much of the game and had limited impact. However, credit where it's due: Dembele kept running and maintained his attacking intent, eventually ghosting into the box to score the killer goal, sealing the match.

Kylian Mbappe gets 8/10. He responded to the subdued impression left by his previous penalty miss with a goal that is a strong candidate for goal of the tournament. France needed a moment of inspiration, and few can control the dipping trajectory of a strike as perfectly as the Real Madrid man. He was lively throughout, always the most dangerous outlet for France; ultimately, he contributed a goal and an assist to Dembele's clincher, a fitting outcome. However, his departure due to an apparent injury raised some concerns.

Among the substitutes, Warren Zaire-Emery (not rated) handled the ball simply and efficiently after coming on; Jean-Philippe Mateta (not rated) posed some threat during France's attacking phases, with one shot saved by Bounou; Bradley Barcola (not rated) had a few touches but failed to make a meaningful impact on the Moroccan defense.