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We have cleared a major hurdle – Deschamps says as France eliminate Morocco
10th July, 2026 08:44 AM
France coach Didier Deschamps has termed the nation’s victory in the World Cup quarterfinal clash against Morocco as overcoming a major hurdle in the team’s quest for global triumph.
Les Bleus dominated and outsmarted the Atlas Lions in the Thursday, July 9, 2026, encounter in Boston with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele delivering second-half goals to take them to successive semifinal World Cup appearances.
Speaking after the encounter, Deschamps, who extended his historical run with another record-extending win at the helm of the team, described the victory as a hard-earned one.
The World Cup-winning coach also allayed fears of Mbappe’s penalty miss, stating that nothing is ever in doubt when it comes to his skipper.
Mbappé, who was guilty of seeing his first-half penalty saved by Morocco’s Yaccine Bounou. later redeemed himself with a goal in the second half to set the favourites on course to the win.
“It is good; it was a tough match,” he told FIFA. “Today, we missed a penalty and failed to convert some chances. With Kylian [Mbappe], there’s no issue; he never doubts himself, even though he had a chance before he scored. We are exactly where we wanted to be,” he explained.
‘Where we want to be’
The high-flying French are now the competition’s best-scoring team, with a total of 16 goals so far, and Deschamps believes they are on course to get their sole aim of the tournament: bringing the ultimate prize to Paris.
“We will recover well and see who our opponent will be. I imagine there is a lot of excitement and passion in France. Here, we are in our own bubble, and I am even more so. That is what we are here for, and the players have a duty to do everything they can to go as far as possible. We’ve cleared a major hurdle.
Impressive World Cup run
Since taking over the reins in the 2004 World Cup, Deschamps has now led the team to three consecutive World Cup semifinals. The 2018 winning coach has also inspired the team to the last four of the competition in four separate editions; their win over Morocco guaranteed them at least a fourth-place finish in 2026.
He led the Les Blues to a runners-up finish in 2022 after a 3-3 draw in normal time ended in a penalty shootout heartbreak against Argentina in Qatar.
France now awaits the winner of the Belgium vs Spain clash. The European rivals face off this Friday, July 10, 2026, at 11:00 pm.
