France has been playing dominant soccer in the World Cup knockout stage, and yesterday’s victory over Morocco in the quarterfinals (2-0) was just the latest proof of that.

Didier Deschamps’ team had 3.05 xGoals compared to Morocco’s mere 0.14. Les Bleus had 22 shots in the match, eight of which were on target, compared to just five shots on goal by the Africans, who found the net only once.

1 – Les Bleus’ xG in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers:

v Sweden: 3.24 for, 0.7 against
v Paraguay: 1.45 for, 0.13 against
v Morocco: 3.05 for, 0.14 against

Dominance. pic.twitter.com/MShobfctA6

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— OptaJean (@OptaJean) July 9, 2026

France’s dominance was similar in their previous two World Cup knockout-round matches: in the Round of 32, in their 3-0 win over Sweden, they had 3.24 xGoals compared to their opponents’ 0.7, while in the Round of 16, in their more… hard-fought 1-0 victory against the tenacious Paraguay, the French had 1.45 xGoals and just 0.13 against them.

Many have labeled France the heavy favorite for the World Cup based on the depth and quality of its roster, but Kylian Mbappé is keeping a low profile. “I was a World Cup champion (in 2018) and a World Cup runner-up (in 2022). This team is neither a World Cup champion nor a World Cup runner-up. So, right now, it’s not the strongest. It’s the one with the most potential, the one you can most easily imagine yourself as part of, where there’s a lot of quality. It allows you to dream, of course, but I’ve always said that the strongest teams are the ones that win. And until proven otherwise, I don’t see a gold trophy next to me,” he said.

*photo source: AP