France books World Cup semi-final berth after beating Morocco
Achraf Hakimi's squad falls to France 0-2.
Achraf Hakimi's squad falls to France 0-2.
Kylian Mbappé missed a penalty against Yassine Bounou, who perfectly anticipated the French forward's shot to make the save.
Mbappé redeemed himself in the second half by scoring France's opening goal, curling the ball around defender Issa Diop and into the far corner. Young Player of the Tournament frontrunner Désiré Doué provided the assist.
Current Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembélé then bagged France's second goal just minutes later with a low-driven shot from the edge of the box.
Michael Olisé recorded his fifth assist of the tournament, extending his lead atop the assist standings in his FIFA World Cup debut. The Bayern Munich star, who usually plays on the wing for his club, has been orchestrating Les Bleus' attack in a central No. 10 role.
Mbappé also moved level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race and is now just one goal away from tying the Argentine's all-time World Cup scoring record.
However, Mbappé went down with an injury in the 77th minute, raising concerns over the Real Madrid star's availability for the next round.
Despite a valiant performance from Bounou, the Moroccan goalkeeper could not prevent the Atlas Lions from exiting the tournament. Morocco managed just five total shots and generated only 0.14 expected goals (xG) from open play, as the Brahim Díaz-led attack was outclassed by France's front four.
The African champions were eliminated by France for the second consecutive FIFA World Cup. France became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals, where it will face either Spain or Belgium.
