Mbappe equals the all-time French record held by Hugo Lloris for World Cup matches
\n Foxborough
\nFrance captain Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty but curled in a superb goal on the hour as France struck twice in six minutes to brush aside Morocco 2-0 on Thursday and book their spot in the World Cup semi-finals.
\nMbappe, who at 27 became the youngest player to rack up 20 World Cup appearances, also bagged his 20th World Cup goal with a curling shot from just inside the box before Ousmane Dembele added another six minutes later with a low drive to set up a last-four meeting with Belgium or Spain.
\nMbappe is the tournament\u2019s joint top scorer with eight goals, level with Lionel Messi, and he trails the Argentine by one goal in the World Cup all-time scoring list.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s three (semi-finals) in a row \u2014 it\u2019s good,\u201d France coach Didier Deschamps said. \u201cIt seems logical and natural, but you still have to get the job done. It was tricky, the penalty… when it\u2019s Kylian. He never has any doubts.
\n\u201cBut we\u2019re exactly where we wanted to be,\u201d said Deschamps, who substituted Mbappe late in the game after a knock to his ankle. \u201cWe\u2019re taking another step forward today, finding ourselves in the final four once again. It shows we\u2019re right there in the mix.\u201d
\nIn a repeat of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, France, who have now kept clean sheets in all three knockout matches, looked the hungrier throughout with Morocco, aiming for a second straight last-four spot, badly missing injured forward Ismael Saibari, and failing to get a shot on target until the 84th minute.
\n\u201cWe are very disappointed, we wanted to advance,\u201d said Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi.
\n\u201cWe have to recognise that France is a great team with excellent players. France had the better scoring opportunities. We lacked ideas and freshness, and we have to accept this defeat.
\n\u201cToday France were stronger but we are able to compete and progress and maybe eliminate them in four years\u2019 time,\u201d Ouahbi said.
\nMorocco are co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
\nMbappe equals Lloris record
\nThe French, bidding to become only the third nation to reach three consecutive World Cup finals, started strongly with a couple of early chances.
\nMbappe, who also equalled the all-time French record held by Hugo Lloris for World Cup matches, had an early opportunity with a low drive that Morocco keeper Yassine Bounou managed to tip wide.
\nFrance earned a 28th-minute penalty through Mbappe but Bounou calmly stood his ground, picked the correct side and smothered the France forward\u2019s low effort.
\nIt was Mbappe\u2019s first penalty miss for the national team since Euro 2020.
\nThe title favourites also hit the crossbar in first-half stoppage time through Lucas Digne\u2019s powerful long-distance drive, as defensive-minded Morocco struggled to reach their opponents\u2019 box and did not have an effort on or off target in the entire first half, with Brahim Diaz as the lone striker.
\nMbappe made amends for his miss on the hour mark with a quick look up and superb finish, and before Morocco had time to recover the twice world champions struck again through Dembele.
\nThe forward, who forms a formidable frontline with Mbappe and Michael Olise, made use of the space opened up by Mbappe\u2019s run to rifle in the second goal and his fifth of the tournament.
\n\u201cA mission? I don\u2019t know but we can\u2019t afford to let up,\u201d Mbappe said. \u201cThere\u2019s still a long way to go, and what lies ahead is even tougher, but we\u2019ll recover well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mbappe equals the all-time French record held by Hugo Lloris for World Cup matches Foxborough France captain Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty but curled in a superb goal on the hour as France struck twice in six minutes to brush aside Morocco 2-0 on Thursday and book their spot in the World Cup semi-finals. Mbappe, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-555663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n