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Kylian Mbappe spread his arms and turned around after scoring his eighth goal of this year’s World Cup. He then greeted the jubilant French fans scattered around the stadium when he left the match due to an injury scare.
The Blues, with a star striker who said he is doing well despite a right ankle problem, return to the semifinals for the third consecutive World Cup.
Mbappé scored a goal and an assist after missing a first-half penalty, Ousmane Dembélé also scored and two-time champions France beat Morocco 2-0 on Thursday in the quarter-finals.
“There is only one way to relax, and that is to win. Until we achieve that, we will not give up,” Mbappé said. “We are in the semi-finals and we are very happy, but there is still a long way to go.”
Mbappé’s 60th-minute goal was the 20th of his World Cup career and it was his 20th match in the tournament, putting him behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Dembélé scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the 66th minute.
Mbappé fell to the ground in the 76th minute, about 13 minutes after being hit hard by a Moroccan defender, and was replaced a minute later. He was then shown sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle.
After the match and with both shoes on, Mbappé ran and jumped to celebrate with his teammates.
“I got a blow to my ankle, but I’m fine,” Mbappé said. “At that time, JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) was in better shape than me to play the last minutes.”
France will face Spain or Belgium in the semi-final on Tuesday in Dallas.
France beat Morocco by the same score in the semi-final of the 2022 tournament in Qatar when the Atlas Lions became the first African team to get that far. France now remains on course to become the third nation to reach the final of three consecutive World Cups.
“It’s a confirmation of the way we have played so far,” said France coach Didier Deschamps, who added that there was a reason for his team’s success at recent World Cups.
“Having great players. Excellent players. My credit goes to the players. But maybe I’m doing my job well,” he said. “The only truth is what is on the ground.”
Mbappé scored his goal with a perfectly placed shot just inside the far post after Morocco failed to clear the ball. He received the ball just outside the box, took a few steps forward and then sent his shot into the net. He held out both arms and ran to the side to celebrate with his teammates.
France’s second goal came after Mbappé received a pass and returned it to Dembélé. Mbappé continued to run forward and dragged the defenders with him, opening up space for Dembélé’s shot.
Dembélé said he was not surprised by the way Mbappé intervened after his missed penalty in the first half.
“He is our captain and he has an incredible mentality,” Dembélé said. “We expect even more goals from him.”
France held a 21-4 advantage in shots on goal and 8-1 in shots on target for the match.
“We are very disappointed. We wanted to continue,” said Moroccan coach Mohamed Ouahbi. “When we had possession, our transitions weren’t great and we had to run a little more. Their players were in their comfort zone.”
Mbappé also had the first shot on goal of the match, narrowly missing the right one in the fourth minute. Then, in the 25th minute, he was running down the left side when he was brought down in the area by Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui. Referee Facundo Tello quickly pointed to the penalty spot.
Mbappé was waiting for his attempt but was delayed by a long video review. He was finally allowed to shoot in the 28th minute, but after hesitation, Mbappé’s shot towards the right corner was caught by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who correctly guessed the direction of the shot.
Deschamps said the lengthy review also included an examination for another misconduct.
Mbappé made his only other penalty attempt at this year’s World Cup in France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16.
Yet France was by far the more active team offensively in the first half, holding a 13-1 advantage on penalties.
Morocco’s best chance came just before the half-time whistle when Achraf Hakimi sent a free kick from just outside the area past the right post.
France now has a chance to emulate Brazil and West Germany by reaching three consecutive World Cup finals.
“We are aware that what awaits us is even harder than what we experienced,” Mbappé said, “but we are ready to face everything.”
Associated Press reporting.
