Third consecutive World Cup semi-final: France savours the moment and already eyes the next step

France qualified for the World Cup semi-finals by dominating Morocco (2-0), joining Brazil and Germany in the very exclusive circle of nations that have reached three consecutive semi-finals in the competition — as in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.

Didier Deschamps’ side were never troubled, despite a penalty miss by Kylian Mbappé in the first half. The Madrid striker made amends by opening the scoring around the hour mark, before Ousmane Dembélé doubled the lead minutes later.

In the dressing room, the celebration matched the achievement. “Perhaps you trivialise reaching a third consecutive World Cup semi-final. We certainly don’t trivialise it in the dressing room,” Adrien Rabiot said. “I can tell you we were very happy. There’s a lot of joy because we’ve been giving everything for several weeks. The group is exceptional. Everyone is united and it’s magnificent.” Didier Deschamps simply shouted “We’re in the semi-final” to his jubilant players.

But the party didn’t last long before minds turned to what comes next. “One more step,” Rabiot said, making no secret of his desire for revenge against Spain. “Yes, of course we want revenge. No matter who it is, we’ll prepare the way we have since the start. We’re really determined. We’re working well, recovering well. We’re serious. We don’t take anyone lightly and I think that’s what makes the difference too. We respect all the teams and we’ll gladly take whoever reaches the semi-finals.”