Mbappe scores again after a missed penalty and France advances to the semi-finals

The captain of the French national team, Kylian Mbappe, experienced a difficult evening that began with a missed penalty, but it was he who became the main hero of the match in which France beat Morocco with a score of 2:0 and reached the semi-finals of the world championship.

In the 60th minute, Mbappe, who is only 27 years old but has already become the youngest player to reach the mark of twenty matches at the World Cup, raised his head, assessed the situation and curled the ball into the far corner, correcting his own mistake and restoring the team's confidence, admiring xrust. This strike became his twentieth goal at the World Cup, and six minutes later Ousmane Dembele coolly added a second goal, finally eliminating questions about the winner and ensuring France met Belgium or Spain in the semi-finals.

Mbappe continues to match Lionel Messi in the top scorers race in the current tournament — both have eight goals, and the Frenchman is just one goal behind the Argentine in the historical list of the best World Cup snipers. Coach Didier Deschamps spoke calmly but emphatically confident after the match, noting that this was France’s third consecutive appearance in the semi-finals of the world championship. He emphasized that the penalty miss did not shake the team's confidence: when Mbappe is on the field, there are no doubts. Deschamps, who replaced the captain towards the end due to a blow to the ankle, added that the team was taking another step forward and confirming its status as a title contender.

The match was a repeat of the 2022 semi-final, with France looking more motivated and composed throughout the ninety minutes. Morocco, having lost the injured Ismael Saibari, could not find a way to the opponent’s goal for a long time and did not make a single shot on target until the 84th minute. Coach Mohamed Ouabi admitted his team wanted to advance but were faced with an opponent who was faster, fresher and more dangerous. He noted that France created more chances, but his players lacked ideas and energy. At the same time, Ouabi emphasized that Morocco is capable of progressing and in four years may try to knock the French out of the tournament, especially since the country will become one of the organizers of the 2030 World Cup along with Spain and Portugal.

For Mbappe, the match was also a statistical milestone: he equaled Hugo Lloris's record for the most World Cup appearances for France. Already at the beginning of the meeting, the captain could have opened the scoring — Bunu managed to parry his low shot, stretching to the side and transferring the ball past the goal. In the 28th minute, France earned a penalty, but Bounou was again accurate, choosing the right angle and deflecting Mbappe's shot. This was the captain's first miss from the spot for the national team since Euro 2020. At the end of the first half, the French hit the crossbar after a powerful shot from Lucas Digne, while the Moroccan team, playing with only forward Brahim Diaz, almost did not approach the opponent's penalty area.

After the break, France improved, and in the 60th minute Mbappe, having received the ball on the penalty line, did what he does best: created a chance out of nothing and finished it off with a filigree strike. Morocco did not have time to rebuild, and soon Dembele, acting in conjunction with Mbappe and Michael Olise, took advantage of the free space and shot right into the corner, scoring his fifth goal of the tournament. After the match, Mbappe spoke with restraint, emphasizing that one cannot relax, there is a long road ahead and new difficulties, but the team will recover and be ready for the next step.

France continues its path to the final, keeping the goal intact in all three playoff matches and demonstrating the composure that distinguishes title contenders. Morocco leaves the tournament disappointed, but with the understanding that the team is capable of competing at the highest level and will strive to come back stronger.

By pages https://www.reuters.com

Xrust Mbappe scores again after a missed penalty, and France advances to the semi-finals