Kylian Mbappe recovered from an early penalty miss to inspire France to a 2-0 victory over Morocco, sending Les Bleus into a third consecutive FIFA World Cup semi-final.
After being denied from the spot by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou in the first half, the France captain broke the deadlock on the hour mark with a curling effort from the edge of the box before turning provider six minutes later for Ousmane Dembele to double the lead.
France dominated possession for much of the contest but struggled to break down Morocco’s disciplined defence before Mbappe’s moment of brilliance changed the game.
Morocco, aiming to avenge their 2-0 defeat to France in the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, frustrated Didier Deschamps’ side throughout the opening 45 minutes, with Bounou’s penalty save keeping the Atlas Lions level at the interval.
However, France stepped up after the restart and comfortably saw out the victory after Dembele’s finish, booking a semi-final showdown against either Belgium or Spain.
The win keeps alive France’s bid for a second World Cup title in three tournaments after lifting the trophy in 2018 and finishing runners-up in Qatar four years later.
Mbappe now leads the Golden Boot race with eight goals and has reached 20 career World Cup goals, second only to Lionel Messi’s 21. Dembele also became only the third French player to score five goals in a single World Cup campaign after Mbappe and Just Fontaine.
France coach Didier Deschamps admitted Morocco had made life difficult for his side.
“It’s good, it was a tough match. Today, we missed a penalty and failed to convert some chances. With Kylian, there’s no issue, he never doubts himself. We are exactly where we wanted to be. We’ve cleared a major hurdle.”
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi praised his players despite the defeat.
“The future will be bright if we continue like this. We did everything we could to win, but we faced a very difficult opponent. It’s a disappointment, of course, but we’ll keep working for the future.”
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