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Didier Deschamps saluted the mentality of his players after France beat Morocco 2-0 in Thursday’s World Cup quarter-final. “That’s three semi-finals in a row,” he said. “That’s already good. But even though it seems logical and natural for us to be here you still have to achieve it.”

Is there a secret? “My credit goes to the players but maybe I do my job well,” Deschamps said. “This is a human venture we are sharing. The only truth is the one on the pitch but the human aspect is extremely important. It’s not copy and paste. It’s never the same situation or conditions. The most important thing in my life has always been the jersey and it’s good to see this group feel the same way.”

Although France dominated from the start, they missed a number of chances and seemed to be growing frustrated when Kylian Mbappé, who had missed a first-half penalty, scored a remarkable opener. Ousmane Dembélé put the game beyond doubt six minutes later. “It was tough today with the penalty, all the chances we didn’t take,” said Deschamps. “But when it’s Kylian, there’s no problem, he never hesitates – even though he’d already missed a chance. Many people say that Kylian is a dictator, that he only thinks of himself. But he’s the captain and he’s exemplary.”

Mbappé was taken off with 13 minutes remaining after feeling some “discomfort” in his ankle, but he is not expected to be a doubt for the semi-final. The midfielder Manu Koné was also withdraw because of “a blow to the knee” and “some cramps”.

Mohamed Ouahbi had no illusions about the gulf between his side and France. “They ended up being in a comfort zone,” said the Morocco coach. “I wanted to make some substitutions even in the first half but I decided to do it later. We had more control early in the second half and we would have liked to have seen how France would have reacted if they hadn’t scored.

“But we have to recognise that they’re a great team. They have excellent players. They have very talented forwards – and they run. They don’t get frustrated and they want to go all the way. They have had great team for a long time. They’ve been in the last two World Cup finals. They have a lot of talent and players who make the effort on the pitch. They are a very solid team who are very attuned to playing in transition.”

Ouahbi had said before the game that Morocco couldn’t simply be happy to be in the last eight, even though they are the first African side to reach two quarter-finals. But he urged a restrained response. “Let’s not panic,” he said. “Let’s see what we can improve and move forward. We have a good group of young players. We have a good federation. We have a king who invests a lot which is why we are here. Maybe we can beat them at the World Cup in four years.”