France Equal Two Major Brazil World Cup Records After Reaching FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi-finals

Boston: France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the first quarter-final of the 23rd FIFA World Cup, played early Thursday (Indian time), to secure a place in the semi-finals.

With the victory, France reached the FIFA World Cup semi-finals for the third consecutive edition and the eighth time overall. In doing so, Les Bleus equalled Brazil in both achievements and moved into joint second place on the all-time list. Germany, however, continue to hold the record.

Brazil had reached three successive World Cup semi-finals between 1994 and 2002, while France have now matched that feat by progressing to the last four in the 2018, 2022 and 2026 editions. Germany remain the only nation to have reached four consecutive World Cup semi-finals, achieving the feat between 2002 and 2014.

France have also equalled Brazil’s tally of eight FIFA World Cup semi-final appearances. Germany lead the all-time standings with 12 semi-final appearances.

France Score Twice in Six Minutes

The quarter-final remained goalless until the 60th minute, with both France and Morocco locked at 0-0. France star Kylian Mbappe had earlier missed a penalty, but made amends by opening the scoring in the 60th minute to give his side a 1-0 lead.

Just six minutes later, Ousmane Dembele doubled France’s advantage with another goal, making it 2-0. Morocco failed to match expectations in both defence and attack, allowing France to dominate the contest and seal a comfortable victory.

Who Plays in the Second Quarter-final?

The second FIFA World Cup quarter-final will be played between Spain and Belgium at 12:30 am IST on Friday.

The remaining two quarter-finals will see Norway take on England at 2:30 am IST on Saturday, while Argentina will face Switzerland at 6:30 am IST on Sunday.

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