FIFA WC 2026: France cruise past Morocco; Mbappe shines with goal and assist
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Foxborough: Kylian Mbappe shrugged off a first-half penalty miss to inspire France to a 2-0 win over Morocco and a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals at Boston Stadium on Friday.
Mbappe—who missed from the spot in the first half after Noussair Mazraoui brought him down—made amends on the hour when he curled a superb strike into the far corner for his eighth goal of the tournament. Minutes later he teed up Ousmane Dembele, whose right-footed finish doubled France’s lead.
France started strongly, with Dayot Upamecano heading a fifth-minute corner straight at goalkeeper Yassine Bounou as Les Bleus dominated possession. Bounou then kept Morocco level at halftime with a fine save to deny Mbappe’s spot-kick.
The winner proved decisive. Mbappe’s contribution also took him past a landmark: he became the first player involved in at least 100 goals for France (64 goals, 37 assists; 101 goal involvements). Dembele’s goal made him the third French player to score five times in a single World Cup finals, joining Mbappe and Just Fontaine.
Didier Deschamps’ side controlled the closing stages and will now meet the winners of Belgium or Spain in the semi-finals, aiming to reach a third consecutive World Cup final after winning in 2018 and finishing runners-up in 2022.
“We missed a penalty and failed to convert some chances. With Kylian Mbappe, there’s no issue, he never doubts himself,” Deschamps said. “We are exactly where we wanted to be. We will recover well and see who our opponent will be.”
(Inputs from IANS)