FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It was billed as a battle of the World Cup heavyweights, and it looked close for a half.

A rematch of the 2022 World Cup semifinal: France, the 2018 champion and 2022 runner-up, against Morocco, the Cinderella from four years ago, and the first Arab and African nation to reach a semifinal. But Morocco could do no better than the quarterfinals this year — losing to France 2-0.

It did not take long for France to go on the attack. In the fourth minute, striker Kylian Mbappé just missed putting Les Bleus up early with a shot that zipped by the left post. France dominated much of the first half, preventing Morocco from even taking a shot until stoppage time at the end.

The best first-half opportunity for France came in the 25th minute. Mbappé was tackled near the Morocco goal and won a penalty kick.

The resulting video review took three minutes, frustrating Mbappé, who wanted to take the kick much sooner. When he eventually shot the penalty, Morocco’s keeper Yassine Bounou dove, low and to the right, easily saving the weak effort by Mbappé.

The French defense stymied Morocco, preventing their offense from getting into a rhythm on a hot, sunny day (it was 89 degrees at kickoff). But France could do no better. At halftime, it was 0-0. The capacity crowd of just over 64,000 at Gillette Stadium wanted more.

Morocco’s midfielder Neil El Aynaoui (left) reacts to a missed chance during the World Cup match against France.

Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images

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Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images

Morocco’s ascent to becoming a respected contender at the World Cup is not coincidental. The government has made it a point to invest heavily in the Moroccan national team, even building a state-of-the-art facility and academy, 15 years ago, that experts say rivals France’s soccer training site.

“The king of that country made a decision,” said Zayn Nabbi, host of the podcast On The Whistle, about African soccer. “They were gonna invest in football, and they were gonna use it as soft power. A host of stars are turning down the opportunity to play for European nations to play for Morocco.”