France beat Morocco 2-0 again as Atlas Lions bow out of World Cup quarter-finals

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — France knocked Morocco out of the World Cup once more, handing the Atlas Lions a 2-0 defeat in the quarter-finals at Gillette Stadium on Thursday. It marked the second tournament in a row that Morocco fell to the French by that exact margin, following a semi-final loss in Qatar four years ago.

Morocco struggled to create chances throughout the match and managed just one shot on target, in the 82nd minute, with the team already two goals behind. The outcome echoed their run in Qatar, where they became the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final.

"The future will be bright if we continue like this, but that doesn't mean we didn't want to win today. Of course, we wanted to win today," Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said through a translator. "We did everything we could to win, but we faced a very difficult opponent. It's a disappointment, of course, but we'll keep working for the future."

Midfielder Azzedine Ounahi offered Morocco their clearest opening when he fired from the edge of the penalty area, but goalkeeper Mike Maignan produced a diving save to push the ball away and snuff out the Atlas Lions' best hope of a comeback.

"They had no real forwards using their speed in the wide areas," France coach Didier Deschamps said. "We were possessing the ball. They had no way to be dangerous to us."

Morocco still pushed hard at this year's tournament. They brought in 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, a talent who might otherwise have featured in France's youth setup. Born in Senlis, about an hour north of Paris, he represented France at every age level before switching his international allegiance.

"We know we represent more than just one country," Ouahbi said. "We represent the Moroccan people and many countries across Asia and Africa. Many people see themselves in this team, and we'll keep working to win titles in the future."

In the first half, Achraf Hakimi came closest for Morocco just before the interval, curling a free kick from just outside the box wide of the right post.

"The first half was very complicated. France was very good with the ball," Ouahbi said. "They caused a lot of problems on the sides with their players and also in the centre. When we had ball possession, our transitions were not so great, so we had to run a bit more, and they ended up being in a comfort zone."