Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty in the first half. It didn’t matter. By the time the final whistle blew against Morocco on Thursday, he’d scored, assisted, and become the first French player ever to hit 100 career goal contributions for the national team. Actually, he’s at 101 now. The guy doesn’t waste time.
France won 2-0 and booked their spot in another World Cup semifinal. That’s three straight now — they won the whole thing in 2018, finished second in 2022, and they’re clearly not done yet. Morocco had no answers. Again. This is the second straight World Cup where France knocked them out by the same 2-0 scoreline.
The penalty miss that changed nothing
Mbappe drew a foul from Noussair Mazraoui in the box, and after a long VAR check, he stepped up to take it. Yassine Bounou guessed right and saved it comfortably. Six saves on the night for the Morocco keeper. But honestly, France was in control from the start anyway. Dayot Upamecano forced an early save. Morocco barely got a look at goal all game.
The breakthrough finally came in the 60th minute. Mbappe picked up the ball just outside the area, curled a right-footed shot into the far corner, and that was that. His eighth goal of the tournament. Which also happens to be his 20th World Cup goal in 20 appearances. He’s now the only player in history to score eight goals in two different World Cups. He did it in 2022 too.
Six minutes later, he turned provider. Dragged defenders away with a smart run, then slipped the ball to Ousmane Dembele, who finished calmly for his fifth goal of the tournament. France went up 2-0 and never looked back.
Numbers that jump off the page
France’s front three — Mbappe, Dembele, and Michael Olise — have combined for 23 goal involvements in this tournament. That’s more than Brazil’s legendary trio of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho produced during their 2002 World Cup win. Context matters, and that’s a wild comparison to hold up against.
Mbappe’s goal also tied him with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. He’s now just one World Cup goal behind Messi’s career total. At 26 years old. Let that sit for a second.
France outshot Morocco 21-4 overall, with eight shots on target to Morocco’s one. They had 13 shots in the first half alone. The game wasn’t as close as the scoreline suggests.
Morocco got shut out for the first time all tournament. France, meanwhile, moves on to Dallas to face either Spain or Belgium in the semifinals on Tuesday. Didier Deschamps’ squad is trying to become only the third nation ever to reach three straight World Cup finals. They look ready.
Leave a Comment