No robbery, just France: Mbappé and Dembélé end Morocco and Africa's World Cup

France beat Morocco 2-0 in Boston to reach a third consecutive World Cup semi-final and end Africa's last hope. Yassine Bounou saved a first-half Mbappé penalty but France's class told after the break, Kylian Mbappé curling in the opener before Ousmane Dembélé doubled it. For all the fuss over an all-Argentine refereeing crew, France were simply far too good. Mbappé moves level with Messi on eight.

Africa's World Cup is over, and this time there was no villain to blame, no VAR monitor to rage at, no sense of robbery. France beat Morocco 2-0 in Boston to reach a third consecutive semi-final, and they did it the way the truly good sides do: by being, quite simply, far too much.

For an hour, mind you, the Atlas Lions made the whole continent believe. The first half was tense and goalless, and it might have been worse for Morocco but for their goalkeeper: Yassine Bounou dived to save a Kylian Mbappé penalty and keep the tie level. Morocco defended in a wall, threw bodies in the way of everything, and dared to dream of another famous night.

Then France's quality broke through, as it usually does. On sixty minutes Mbappé curled a clinical finish into the far corner, and six minutes later Ousmane Dembélé drove in a second from a Mbappé pass. Two moments of genuine class, and the dam Morocco had built for an hour simply gave way.

The numbers lay the gulf bare. France had twenty-two shots to Morocco's five, nine on target to one, and an expected-goals count of 3.04 to a barely-there 0.14. Morocco actually had more of the ball, fifty-two percent of it, and did almost nothing with it. Bounou made six saves and kept the score respectable; on another night this is a rout.

And the storm that never came deserves a word. For all the pre-match fury over the all-Argentine refereeing crew, the officials were a footnote: no red cards, no penalties awarded, no VAR controversy. France answered the noise in the only language that silences it, winning so clearly that the whistle was irrelevant. After the Egypt storm, that is worth saying plainly.

It still hurts, though, and it will hurt across this continent. With Morocco gone, Africa's World Cup is done. The Atlas Lions carried the hope of a billion people into this tournament, and Egypt before them, and now both are out. From Casablanca to Nairobi, the dream is over. Wakati huu hakuna wa kulaumu, Ufaransa walikuwa bora tu, na safari ya Afrika imefika mwisho: this time there is no one to blame, France were simply better, and Africa's journey has ended.

France, meanwhile, look ominous. Mbappé's goal took him to eight for the tournament, level with Lionel Messi at the summit of the Golden Boot, and Didier Deschamps marches into a third straight World Cup semi-final, where his side will meet the winner of Spain and Belgium. Les Bleus are three games from another star. Follow the run-in on our bracket.