France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the first quarterfinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The victory sends France to their third consecutive World Cup semifinal, where they will face the winner of the Spain-Belgium match on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The match was scoreless through the first half despite France dominating possession and chances. The breakthrough moment came in the 26th minute when Kylian Mbappé was fouled by Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui inside the penalty area, earning a penalty kick. However, Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a crucial save, diving to his left to stop Mbappé's softly-hit effort.

France finally broke through in the 60th minute when Mbappé redeemed his earlier miss with a superb curling shot from just inside the penalty area that found the back of the net past Issa Diop. This marked Mbappé's eighth goal of the tournament and his 20th career World Cup goal, moving him level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.

Just six minutes later at the 66-minute mark, reigning Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé doubled France's lead with a low strike from the top of the penalty area. Despite Bounou getting a hand to the ball, he couldn't push it wide enough, marking Dembélé's fifth goal of this World Cup.

Dembélé's performance was particularly noteworthy, as this was his fourth goal at Gillette Stadium during this World Cup, following his hat trick against Norway on June 26.

Mbappé was substituted off with about 15 minutes remaining after going down and spending time on the ground. However, the 27-year-old walked off under his own power and waved to the crowd to indicate he was alright, easing concerns about his availability for the semifinal.

France dominated the match statistically, registering 22 total shots compared to Morocco's mere 5 attempts, with only 1 on target for the Atlas Lions. The French side had 8 shots on goal while Morocco managed just 1, highlighting the defensive struggle throughout the match.

Despite Morocco having slightly more possession at 52% compared to France's 48%, the French were far more efficient in attack. France completed 485 passes with 89% accuracy, while Morocco completed 524 passes at 86% accuracy. Both teams earned 5 corner kicks each, but France's pressure was relentless throughout the second half.

France's victory Thursday, sets up a highly anticipated semifinal clash against either Spain or Belgium, who were scheduled to play their quarterfinal on July 10 in Inglewood. The winner of that match will face France on July 14 in Arlington, Texas, with a spot in the World Cup final on the line.

France has won the World Cup twice in their history—first in 1998 as the host nation and again in 2018 in Russia.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in a statement said it launched "approximately 90 strikes" against Iranian military targets Wednesday night into early morning Thursday(UTC), marking a second day of intensified conflict after President Donald Trump declared the existing ceasefire "over." The operation targeted air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, and over 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fast attack crafts to degrade Tehran's ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The escalation was triggered by Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz on July 7, which U.S. officials described as "unwarranted" violations of a June interim agreement. In retaliation to earlier US strikes, the IRGC claimed to have struck 85 U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain, including Camp Arifjan and the Naval Support Activity Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

Explosions were reported early Thursday, in multiple Iranian port cities, including Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, and Chabahar, while a railway bridge in Aqqala, northeast of Tehran, was also damaged.

Speakig to reporters aboard Air Force One on the way back home, from NATO summit in Ankara, President Trump claimed that the Iranians called "a little while ago" and sought a new deal "badly" but expressed doubt about their reliability.

Iranian officials reportedly denied they made such call to Trump or any US official, and expressed frustration for having to correct Trump's blatant lies.

Iran has since conducted strikes on US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the latest US attack

At the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the United States would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot air defense missiles, saying, "We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots... This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough."

Trump admitted the manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, had not yet been informed of the decision but expressed confidence they would be "thrilled." This move addresses Ukraine's critical need for interceptors to defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks, though Trump noted the U.S. currently has limited stockpiles to donate directly.

Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran "over" and labeled the Iranian leadership as "scum" and "sick people," warning of imminent and hard U.S. military strikes.

Trump expressed frustration that NATO allies, with the exception of the United Kingdom, had refused to allow the U.S. to use their airbases for bombing missions against Iran. He also renewed his demand for the U.S. to acquire Greenland from Denmark, calling it "very important for the United States," a claim Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen firmly rejected, saying the territory is "not for sale."

Tensions flared over defense spending and alliance unity, with Trump initially threatening to cut off all trade with Spain for failing to meet the 3.5% GDP defense spending target and refusing to support operations against Iran.

However, his tone shifted later in the summit, where he praised Spain for being "very generous" and described a private meeting of NATO leaders as filled with "tremendous love" and unity. The summit concluded with a declaration reaffirming an "ironclad commitment" to Article 5.

Trump sparked security questions by opting not to fly home on the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, citing a desire to let U.S. troops tour the aircraft instead.