Kylian Mbappe recovered from an early penalty miss to inspire France to a 2-0 quarter-final win over Morocco in Boston, sending Didier Deschamps’ side into the World Cup semi-finals.
Mbappe won a spot-kick in the first half when Noussair Mazraoui clipped him, but after a delay his tame penalty was comfortably saved by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. The miss did not knock his confidence: Mbappe opened the scoring just after the hour mark with a precise finish into the far corner, then created the second for Ousmane Dembele six minutes later as France sealed a routine victory.
Morocco, missing injured forward Ismael Saibari, struggled to trouble the French defence and bowed out at the quarter-final stage. France, with Mbappe now on eight goals and three assists in this tournament, remain on course for a third consecutive final and will meet the winner of Spain v Belgium in the semis.
Key moments
– 25′: Penalty awarded after Mazraoui fouled Mbappe.
– 28′: Penalty saved by Yassine Bounou.
– 35′: Chance for Morocco saved.
– 45+2′: Lucas Digne hits the crossbar.
– 60′: Mbappe scores to put France ahead.
– 66′: Dembele doubles the lead.
– 76′: Mbappe substituted, appears unhurt.
Match summary
France controlled large spells of the game but were kept at bay until the decisive period around the hour. There were chances at both ends — Dayot Upamecano and Desire Doue had opportunities early, and Digne rattled the bar before half-time — but Morocco rarely threatened consistently in attack.
Mbappe’s performance underlined his pivotal role. After the penalty setback he remained the focal point of France’s threat, combining pace, movement and composure. His substitution late on looked precautionary; he later described it as due to a minor ankle problem but insisted he was fine, saying his replacement was simply better placed to finish the match minutes.
Coach and captain reactions
Mbappe: “I have a minor ankle injury, but I am completely fine. The change was because the other player was in a better position to play the remaining minutes.”
Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi acknowledged the disappointment but stressed the team’s progress: “The future will be bright if we continue like this. Of course we wanted to win today. We did everything we could but faced a very difficult opponent. We represent more than one country — the Moroccan people and many across Asia and Africa — and we’ll keep working to win titles in the future.”
What it means
France advance to the semi-finals and remain heavy favorites while Mbappe continues to chase individual honours as well as team glory. Morocco leave the tournament with their reputation enhanced and a young group to build on for the next cycle.