France into semi-finals after comfortable win over Morocco

At a glance

  • Kylian Mbappe wins a penalty for France but his spot-kick is saved by Yassine Bounou

  • Mbappe puts France ahead in 60th minute with excellent curled strike from just inside penalty area

  • Ousmane Dembele seals victory with a low shot six minutes later

  • France will play either Spain or Belgium in the semi-final in Dallas on Tuesday (20:00 BST)

  • PLAYER RATER

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of this World Cup to make up for an earlier missed penalty as France proved too good for Morocco and moved into the semi-finals.

Mbappe won the first-half penalty when he was fouled by Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui, but his poorly hit spot-kick was comfortably saved by Yassine Bounou.

The Real Madrid striker made amends in the 60th minute with a superb curling effort from just inside the penalty area to give France a deserved lead.

Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembele doubled France's advantage six minutes later when he was allowed to run at the Morocco defence, with his low strike finding the net despite Bounou getting a hand to the ball.

Mbappe's goal moves him level with Argentina's Lionel Messi at this tournament, although the Frenchman is now top in the race for the Golden Boot as he has registered more assists than his former Paris St-Germain team-mate.

The two are also having a thrilling contest to see who will become the all-time World Cup top scorer, with 27-year-old Mbappe now on 20 goals compared to the record 21 from 39-year-old Messi.

Two-time winners France, who lost to Argentina on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final, will play Spain or Belgium in the semi-final in Dallas on Tuesday (20:00 BST).

France again show why they are favourites to win tournament

'Absolute perfection!' Mbappe fires France ahead against Morocco

France won the World Cup in 1998 and 2018 and have been tipped by many to go on and lift the trophy again on 19 July.

Before this quarter-final, former England striker Ian Wright described Didier Deschamps' side as "one of the most clear favourites for a World Cup tournament I have ever seen".

A match against Morocco, a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final which France also won 2-0, was expected to be the toughest test so far.

Morocco, seventh in the world rankings, were frozen out though, registering their only shot on target in the 83rd minute when 2-0 down. They had only five attempts in total, four of those off target.

France's intent was shown early on when Mbappe had a 25-yard strike pushed wide, with Bounou then keeping out Dayot Upamecano's header from the following corner.

Dembele and Adrien Rabiot also missed opportunities, before Mbappe's weak penalty.

The striker had to wait more than three minutes before the spot-kick as the video assistant referee checked whether there was a foul, and Mbappe then stuttered in his run-up before his low shot to the right corner was easily saved.

Mbappe misses a penalty

But France remained on top. Desire Doue had a strike saved and Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne sent a long-range effort against the crossbar, with perhaps the slightest touch from Bounou.

It was just a matter of time before the goals came and two in quick succession ended the game as a contest.

The only slight concern for France was the sight of the substituted Mbappe with ice on his right ankle after being replaced by Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 77th minute.

After the game, Mbappe showed any potential injury was not a serious one as he jumped around with team-mates to celebrate their sixth victory in a row at this tournament.

As well as having the joint top scorer in Mbappe, France are now also the leading team scorers in the competition with 16 goals from six games.

They remain the team to beat at this World Cup.

Kylian Mbappe has his penalty saved by Yassine BounouGetty Images

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou has only been beaten by two of the nine penalties he has faced at World Cups (saved four, three missed the target - including shootouts)

Player of the match

K. Mbappé
7.66
10 K. Mbappé
7.66
7 O. Dembélé
7.26
11 M. Olise
7.09
20 D. Doué
6.99
16 M. Maignan
6.58
12 B. Barcola
6.56
6 M. Koné
6.43
3 L. Digne
6.42
17 W. Saliba
6.42
14 A. Rabiot
6.34
5 J. Koundé
6.27
22 J. Mateta
6.17
4 D. Upamecano
6.09
2 M. Gusto
5.98
18 W. Zaïre-Emery
5.96
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