France have continued their march towards history, beating Morocco 2-0 in a rematch of the 2022 semi-finals. Kylian Mbappe was central to the victory, first appearing fallible before turning fantastic, breaking Moroccan resistance with a moment of magnificence.
Morocco suffered the same scoreline as in the 2022 semi-finals, as Mbappe pilots France towards a third successive final. He followed his goal with a third assist of the tournament, enabling Ousmane Dembele to seal a deserved victory.
Mbappe’s Influence and Wider Battle
Even when Kylian Mbappe looked fallible, he then appeared fantastic. Mbappe has been emulating Lionel Messi over the last month and provided a strong response after showing that the greats are not immune to missed penalties.
The entire competition can seem part of a wider battle between Mbappe and Messi: for the Golden Ball, the Golden Boot and the World Cup itself. The France captain drew level with his Argentine counterpart on eight goals in the United States, bringing his overall tally to 20 in as many World Cup matches.
Mbappe walked off the pitch with his arm aloft to acknowledge the applause, ending the game with an ice pack on his right foot. When he celebrated after the final whistle, this seemed a precautionary change, rather than a reason to suspect he is a doubt for the Bastille Day semi-final against Spain or Belgium.
Bounou’s Goalkeeping Masterclass
Yassine Bounou, the Morocco goalkeeper, threatened to curtail Didier Deschamps’s reign in the first half. This was one of the great goalkeeping displays of the last month, with Bounou adding to his reputation for excellence in such situations.
Morocco were shorn of a threat themselves, but Bounou’s defiance had begun early, making two terrific early saves. He repelled Mbappe’s 20-yard shot and Dayot Upamecano’s close-range header, and was terrific again when Desire Doue robbed Ayyoub Bouaddi, strolled forward and shot.
Just before half-time, Bounou did superbly to tip Lucas Digne’s swerving shot on to the bar. His performance made it apparent that it would take something special to beat him.
Bounou is a penalty specialist, as the Netherlands can testify, and he held Mbappe’s penalty easily after a makeshift centre-back, Noussair Mazraoui, tripped Mbappe. Mbappe was flustered, more by the officials than the opponents, as he was delayed by a needlessly long VAR check.
The wait stretched to three minutes and 12 seconds, and after a stuttering run-up, Mbappe’s penalty was a tame sidefoot. It would have been at least 21 goals for Mbappe but for the brilliance of Yassine Bounou.
France Break Through Moroccan Resistance
Despite Bounou’s heroics, Mbappe obliged with something special to score France’s first goal. He delivered a curled shot with minimal backlift from the edge of the box.
Morocco complained Adrien Rabiot had handled in the build-up; the finish, though, was unstoppable. Mbappe was not finished, contributing further to France’s attack.
France have the sort of side where a Ballon d’Or winner can take second billing, and Dembele scored the second goal. His tally of five for the tournament has been camouflaged by Mbappe’s eight goals.
Remarkably, Dembele had never scored in a tournament before this match. With the second goal, Morocco’s resistance was soon finished.
France will now look towards their third successive final, with Mbappe seemingly fit despite his precautionary ice pack.