Kylian Mbappe shrugged off a first-half penalty miss to inspire France to a 2-0 victory over Morocco and secure a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals….reports Asian Lite News Desk
Kylian Mbappe recovered from a first-half penalty miss to produce another decisive performance as France defeated Morocco 2-0 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash at Boston Stadium on Friday, securing a place in a third successive World Cup semi-final.
The France captain scored his eighth goal of the tournament before setting up Ousmane Dembele for the second as the two-time world champions booked a last-four meeting with either Belgium or Spain.
France made an aggressive start and nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Dayot Upamecano met a corner with a header, only for Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to make a comfortable save.
After controlling much of the possession in the opening half, France were awarded a penalty when Noussair Mazraoui fouled Mbappe inside the area. The forward stepped up to take the spot-kick, but Bounou denied him with a fine save, ensuring the teams went into the interval level.
France finally broke the deadlock on the hour mark.
Mbappe collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area before curling a precise finish into the far corner to give Didier Deschamps’ side a deserved lead.
The 27-year-old then turned provider shortly afterwards. A deft flick from Mbappe found Dembele, who created space with a well-timed run before curling a right-footed effort beyond Bounou to double France’s advantage.
The goal effectively ended Morocco’s hopes of a comeback as France controlled the remainder of the contest to progress comfortably into the semi-finals.
Mbappe also reached a significant personal milestone during the match, becoming the first player to be directly involved in at least 100 goals for the French national team, with a combined tally of 64 goals and 37 assists.
Dembele, meanwhile, became only the third French player to score five goals in a single FIFA World Cup, joining Mbappe and Just Fontaine.
The result keeps France on course for another World Cup title after lifting the trophy in 2018 and finishing runners-up to Argentina at Qatar 2022.
Speaking after the match, France coach Didier Deschamps praised Mbappe’s resilience following the missed penalty and expressed satisfaction with his team’s progress.
“We missed a penalty and failed to convert some chances. With Kylian Mbappe, there’s no issue, he never doubts himself, even though he had a chance before he scored. We are exactly where we wanted to be. We will recover well and see who our opponent will be,” said Deschamps.
France will now await the winner of the Belgium-Spain encounter as they look to reach a second consecutive FIFA World Cup final and a fourth overall.
