Kylian Mbappé recently reached a significant career milestone, scoring his 20th career World Cup goal. This achievement came in France’s quarterfinal match against Morocco on July 9.
The goal positioned Mbappé within one strike of Lionel Messi for World Cup history. It also drew him level with the Argentina forward’s eight goals atop the leaderboard in this year’s Golden Boot race.
Quarter-final Goal and Penalty Miss
Mbappé netted his 20th career World Cup goal in the 60th minute of the quarterfinal fixture. A ball found the French superstar inside the 18-yard box, and he curled it perfectly past Yassine Bounou and into the right side of the net.
This strike gave France a 1-0 lead against Morocco. Earlier in the match, Mbappé had failed to convert a penalty kick chance in the first half.
Bounou made the save diving to his left, marking the first time Mbappé had missed a penalty kick in World Cup action.
Mbappé’s Tournament Form
The goal against Morocco also maintained Mbappé at his one-goal-per-World-Cup-match pace, as this was his 20th career World Cup match. Prior to this eighth goal of the tournament, he had already managed three braces through the round of 32.
His seventh goal came on a penalty shot against Paraguay in the round of 16. That penalty was France’s lone goal in a game Les Bleus won 1-0.
France’s World Cup Ambitions
France is currently seeking its third consecutive trip to the World Cup final. They must first overcome Morocco in this quarterfinal match, a team they previously beat in the semifinal in 2022.
Should Les Bleus defeat the Atlas Lions on Thursday, they are scheduled to play the winner of July 10’s Spain vs. Belgium match. This semifinal encounter is slated for July 14.