France 2-0 Morocco - Mbappe made the miss disappear
France reached a third straight World Cup semi-final by beating Morocco 2-0, with Kylian Mbappe turning a saved penalty into a goal, an assist and another knockout headline.
France spent half an hour looking like a team that had missed its cleanest chance. Then Kylian Mbappe made the miss feel like a footnote.
Mbappe recovered from Yassine Bounou saving his first-half penalty to score in the 60th minute, then set up Ousmane Dembele six minutes later as France beat Morocco 2-0 in the first World Cup quarter-final. The reward is a third straight semi-final and a Tuesday date in Dallas against Spain or Belgium. 1
Timeline
- 28' - Bounou guesses right and saves Mbappe's penalty after Noussair Mazraoui brings him down in the box. 2
- 45+5' - Achraf Hakimi bends Morocco's best first-half chance just wide from a free kick. 2
- 60' - Mbappe curls France in front from the edge of the area, his eighth goal of the tournament. 1
- 66' - Mbappe drags defenders with him and lays the ball back for Dembele, who finishes low for 2-0. 2
- 90+7' - France close it out without the late wobble Morocco needed. 3
The numbers were meaner than the score: France won expected goals 3.69 to 0.14 and shots on target 8 to 1, even while Morocco had 52 percent of the ball. 3 Possession without penetration is just a polite way to lose.
One-line verdict: France had one scare, then spent the second half reminding everyone why tournament football bends toward Mbappe.
Quote of the Day
"There's only one way to relax, and that's by winning. Until we've done that, we don't let up." - Kylian Mbappe 1
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