The French superstar scored his 20th World Cup goal as defending champions cruised past Morocco 2-0 to reach their third consecutive semi-final
Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi are having their own little contest in the midst of a World Cup that is heading to the business end. Right down to superb goals after soft penalties. Messi did that in the escape from Egypt, Mbappé followed against Morocco on Thursday. Both have eight goals in this edition though Mbappé has played one match more. Overall, Messi has 21, Mbappé 20 in as many World Cup matches. Twelve of them, including the one in Boston that took France to the semi-final, have come in knockout games.
Mbappé then turned provider for Ousmane Dembélé as France carved out space in the middle and in six second-half minutes, they had settled the first quarter-final. Dembélé and the Boston pitch have been like Rohit Sharma and the Eden Gardens. Of his five goals, the Ballon d’Or winner has scored in this campaign, four have come at this stadium. The 2-0 win, a repeat of 2022, took France to their third consecutive World Cup semi-final. Didier Deschamps will have at least two more games before his stint as France head coach ends. He will hope one of them is a third straight final.
Morocco’s Defensive Game Plan
Under Mohamed Ouahbi, Morocco have played more on the front foot than they did four years ago. From being in the bottom 20 in the possession stats in Doha, they have moved into the top 10 in the 2026 finals. From six goals in seven games in Doha, they came into the quarter-final with 12 from five. Yet, against France, Ouahbi did what his predecessor Walid Regragui had in the first semi-final for an African or Arab nation – defend deep.
Noussair Mazraoui moved into inner defence with Anas Salah-Edine as left-back but Morocco lined up almost as a back three with Achraf Hakimi positioned higher than a back-four right back would be. Hakimi and Chemsdine Talbi were Morocco’s outlets as they deployed a low block with Ayyoub Bouaddi and Neil El-Aynaoui protecting the defence. Without the injured Ismail Saibari, Morocco didn’t have a focal point, preferring to use Azzedine Ounahi as a false nine with Brahim Diaz drifting in behind him.
France Dominates Early
It was a set up that had come prepared to suffer and looking to hit on the counter. The first happened in spades, the second hardly because France didn’t let Morocco get out. By the 20th minute, France had seven touches in the rival penalty box, their goalie Mike Maignan could have gone AWOL and it wouldn’t have mattered. Mbappé tested Bounou from range and from the corner-kick that followed, Dayot Upamecano’s header brought out diving save from the keeper. Adrien Rabiot and Jules Koundé also got headers in as France showed that not just on the ground, they were a threat in air too. Barring William Saliba, every outfield France player had a crack on goal in the first half. France had 13 attempts before half-time, three on target, and an xG of 1.55.
The Penalty That Wasn’t
Set up to prevent exactly this sort of a situation, the first time Morocco broke in numbers, they were caught out by Mbappé. Désiré Doué, preferred to Bradley Barcola on the left by Deschamps, dispossessed Hakimi and France were on their way with Hakim, Bouaddi and Diaz stranded high up on the pitch. Mbappé isolating a defender is every team’s worst nightmare. Mazraoui felled him and after a VAR check that spanned 190 seconds, ostensibly to see if Mbappé had begun to fall before there was contact, the penalty was awarded. Having protected the ball, Dembélé handed it over to Mbappé as the stadium held its breath. Refusing to commit, Bounou pulled off the easiest of the five penalty saves this World Cup has seen.
Mbappé’s Moment of Magic
France shrugged it off and went again. Bounou saved from Doué and Lucas Digne banged into the horizontal from nearly 30 yards out. More of the same followed in the second half after France emerged first. They camped near Morocco’s penalty area but like against Paraguay, there was no panic. France knew their time would come.
That Michael Olise hadn’t been mentioned so far is proof of Morocco having done a good job. And then, in the 55th minute, Olise turned on a dime leaving Bouaddi chasing a shadow. An inside pass to Mbappé followed. A number of France’s 16 goals so far have come from similarly quick interplay between Mbappé and Olise but this time the France captain blasted over from an off-side position.
Then, just like that, Mbappé scored. When Digne’s ball found him after a loose clearance, Mbappé was almost 18 yards away from goal with Issa Diop blocking his path. Even for his phenomenal abilities it didn’t seem like a chance. But then, what do we know? Mbappé bent one so sharply, and at 98km/h as per the stadium scoreboard, that it bulged the side-netting inside Bounou’s goal.
Dembélé made it another comfortable outing, a deflection from Upamecano being the closest Morocco had come to scoring. But even as France rang in the changes to rest players, Bounou had to keep out a Barcola blast at the near post. There is little France haven’t done right so far.
