FOXBOROUGH, MA — France captain Kylian Mbappe put a missed penalty behind him in spectacular fashion Wednesday, curling a beautiful shot into the net at the 60-minute mark as France dominated Morocco 2-0 to punch their ticket to the World Cup semi-finals.
The 27-year-old Mbappe, who became the youngest player ever to make 20 World Cup appearances, also notched his 20th career World Cup goal with that curling strike from just inside the penalty area. Ousmane Dembele then added a second goal six minutes later with a low, hard shot, setting up a semi-final showdown against either Belgium or Spain.
Mbappe now sits tied atop the tournament’s scoring chart with eight goals, matching Lionel Messi. He trails the Argentine by just one goal on the all-time World Cup scoring list.
France coach Didier Deschamps reflected on the team’s third consecutive semi-final appearance. “That’s three in a row — it’s good,” he said. “It seems logical and natural, but you still have to get the job done. It was tricky, the penalty… when it’s Kylian. He never has any doubts.”
Deschamps, who pulled Mbappe from the game late after the star took a knock to his ankle, added: “But we’re exactly where we wanted to be. We’re taking another step forward today, finding ourselves in the final four once again. It shows we’re right there in the mix.”
The match was a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final between the two nations. France kept clean sheets in all three of their knockout-round games, while Morocco — seeking a second straight semi-final appearance — was hampered by the absence of injured forward Ismael Saibari. The Moroccan side failed to register a single shot on target until the 84th minute.
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi acknowledged France’s superiority. “We are very disappointed, we wanted to advance,” he said. “We have to recognise that France is a great team with excellent players. France had the better scoring opportunities. We lacked ideas and freshness, and we have to accept this defeat.”
Ouahbi remained hopeful for the future, saying: “Today France were stronger but we are able to compete and progress and maybe eliminate them in four years’ time.” Morocco is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
Mbappe also tied the all-time French record for World Cup appearances, previously held by Hugo Lloris. His evening nearly got off to a strong start when an early low drive forced Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou into a diving save to tip the ball wide.
France earned a penalty in the 28th minute, but Bounou stood firm, guessed correctly, and smothered Mbappe’s low attempt. It marked the first penalty miss of Mbappe’s international career since Euro 2020.
France continued to press in the first half, with Lucas Digne rattling the crossbar with a powerful long-range shot in stoppage time. Morocco, playing with a defensive mindset and only Brahim Diaz up front, failed to produce a single attempt — on or off target — during the entire opening 45 minutes.
Mbappe made up for the miss at the hour mark, taking a quick look and delivering a superb finish. Before Morocco could regroup, Dembele made it 2-0, capitalizing on space created by Mbappe’s run to drive home his fifth goal of the tournament. Dembele forms a dangerous attacking trio with Mbappe and Michael Olise.
“A mission? I don’t know but we can’t afford to let up,” Mbappe said after the match. “There’s still a long way to go, and what lies ahead is even tougher, but we’ll recover well.”
