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France brushed Morocco aside with another hugely impressive World Cup performance — but there was concern for Kylian Mbappe after he was forced off late on.
Mbappe bounced back from having an early penalty saved to curl France into the lead with a fine finish. It was his eighth goal of the tournament, drawing him level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.
Mbappe then turned provider for France’s second, setting up Ousmane Dembele to finish low into the bottom corner.
France will next face either Spain or Belgium for a place in the final, with all eyes now on whether the 27-year-old can overcome that late injury scare.
While Kylian Mbappe carries the torch, having scored 50 per cent of France’s goals at this World Cup, it says a lot about the top-scoring team at this tournament that he is not their sole source.
Ousmane Dembele did not have a majestic game against Morocco but his low strike knocked the fight out of them – that is his fifth of the competition which in most teams would be an eye-catching World Cup return. Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue, who tend to share a flank, have three between them.
All in all, it contrasts well. Only one Argentinian forward has scored other than Lionel Messi (Lautaro Martinez with one). Similarly only one Norwegian forward has scored other than Erling Haaland (Antonio Nusa with one).
Harry Kane (six goals) notably has more help with Jude Bellingham (four).
It is curious the only French players to score are their forwards. No defenders have chipped in, no midfielders, and not even the slinky playmaker Michael Olise, king of the assist, has a goal to celebrate – yet.
A hamstring issue meant Morocco were without their main goal threat in Ismael Saibari. In his absence, Plan B was activated: a strikerless system.
Sadly for Morocco, it offered exactly zero goal threat at any point.
Mohamed Ouahbi’s hand was weakened by the fact he was also missing his two first-choose left centre-backs and his left winger but, for one of the most entertaining sides in the tournament, Morocco were painfully conservative and lacklustre.
Ouahbi set up his team to sit deep and soak up pressure. The issue however, was that when they won possession they failed to explode forward.
Without a focal point, the reliance was on Brahim Diaz, Chemsdine Talbi and Bilal El Khannouss to break from deep as a unit.
It simply did not happen and Morocco were a pale imitation of the team that started the tournament by knocking the ball around Brazil for fun.
Exactly three minutes and 10 seconds elapsed between Kylian Mbappe being scythed to the ground and the Frenchman being allowed to actually take the penalty kick.
It was a staggeringly long wait. A check by the video assistant referee (VAR) was ongoing but there was no foul on Achraf Hakimi in the build-up and the lunge from Noussair Mazraoui was about as clear cut a foul as there has ever been.
Why the delay then?
Mbappe seemed bemused as he stood over the ball asking the referee for a signal. The Argentinian official Facundo Tello seemed more preoccupied with marching up to the players at the edge of the penalty area warning them about infringement.
It saw Mbappe twice respot the kick, the second time seemingly at the behest of the referee. It will have done little to dampen the conspiracy theory, suggested by Egypt manager Hossam Hassan, that there is a pro-Argentine agenda.
Whether it psyched him out or not, it was a very poor penalty. He did not get a clean contact on the ball and placed it midway between the goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and the right post, which allowed Bono to easily gather.
It was Mbappe’s first miss after a run of 15 conversions. But this was Bounou’s fourth World Cup penalty save — including shoutouts — meaning he has saved more than any other goalkeeper in the competition’s history.
His pre-strike routine appears to have a dazzling effect on takers. Here he was again, chaotically tangling his hands in front of his chest and wriggling his legs side-to-side like an inflatable tube man in an attempt to put off Mbappe.
In Morocco’s round of 32 penalty shooting win over the Netherlands, Bounou’s unique strategy of moving decisively to one side before the kick is taken proved successful, as he was able to save one-handed from Crysencio Summerville.
Whoever ends up winning this Golden Boot will have a highlight reel for the ages. Tonight it was Kylian Mbappe’s turn, adding another sumptuous effort to open the scoring here and bring him level with Lionel Messi on eight goals.
He is now just five goals shy of the record for the most goals in a single World Cup campaign, held by another French striker. Just Fontaine scored a staggering 13 in the 1958 edition.
With two games still to come, the semi-final followed by either the final or third-place play-off, nobody is counting Mbappe out.
Like Messi against Egypt, Mbappe passed up the opportunity for a more routine addition to his tally, with a tame penalty effort in the first half. Seemingly intent on matching his rival for style as well as output, Mbappe’s deadlock-breaking goal was a stunning curling effort, struck with the deadly mix of precision and speed we have become accustomed to from France’s record goalscorer.
After a scrappy passage of play in which Morocco failed to clear their lines, Desire Doue poked a loose ball to Mbappe on the left edge of the area. Faced with the towering centre-back Issa Diop blocking his route to goal, Mbappe shimmied his hips one way and then the other, opening up the sliver of space he needs to inflict damage.
Then, using Diop as a marker, he whipped the ball around him, blindsiding Yassine Bounou in goal. Even if the Moroccan goalkeeper had been granted a clean view, there was no stopping it. Smashed with the instep of Mbappe’s right foot, the ball arced viciously into the top-right corner, beyond Bounou’s despairing dive.
When the technique is this good, a missed penalty or last-ditch tackle only delays the inevitable.
That France have not fallen behind once at this World Cup is a testament to their brilliance.
Yet it would be interesting to see what happens to them if, say, Spain took a semi-final lead. Or maybe England in the final. Wouldn’t it?
They are so dangerous, particularly when ahead, because opponents have to open up to chase a result. This means France’s turbo-charged forwards have the space to do even more damage.
Against Morocco, that is exactly what happened after Kylian Mbappe’s opening goal — with Ousmane Dembele springing the counter-attack and finish that secured his team’s place in the next round.
Spain, England and Argentina certainly have the attacking thrust and individual ability to cause France more problems than any of the sides they have faced so far.
There is no doubt France have the best starting XI at this World Cup and the deepest squad, but tournament football history teaches you it ultimately only takes a few minutes for a whole campaign to unravel.
The pass networks always tell a story, I find.
These are graphics that show how a team passed the ball and the average positions of each player — and this one underlines the value of both Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele either side of Kylian Mbappe.
They are also beautifully balanced and spent the majority of the match inside the Morocco half, even though Morocco actually had more possession of the ball.
By contrast, you can see how deep Morocco were, and how they were restricted to building up down their right side. Chemsdine Talbi had the ability to be a threat but was isolated. They also clearly missed Ismael Saibari.
Michael Olise gets my vote for Player of the Tournament — and he hasn’t scored a goal yet.
He is a joy to watch.
France have barely conceded a proper chance in this knockout stage so far.
Sweden only created a couple of half-chances in the first half, but that’s more than Paraguay and Morocco have managed between them since.
France’s expected goals against in the knockout stage:
Guess who got the official player of the match award from FIFA?
You’ve got it. And it is the third time at this World Cup for Kylian Mbappe.
Some talent.
French forward Ousmane Dembele is making a major contribution to this France side. He also spoke following France’s comfortable win. Here is what he said, via FIFA:
💬 “We’re very happy. We were really focused (today). This is my third World Cup semi-final with the French team and it’s pure joy, pure pleasure.
“We’re going to stay focused on what’s coming next.”
Victory over Morocco today brought Didier Deschamps a record 20th World Cup victory as France manager.
That makes him the first manager to win 20 games at the World Cup.
Also, by taking charge of his 25th World Cup match today, he equalled a record held by the legendary West Germany manager Helmut Schon. A record he will break in the semi-finals against either Spain or Belgium.
For those of you who like visual representations of dominance, here is the XG step chart from today’s quarter-final — which effectively shows the cumulative quality of chances both sides created as the match wore on.
In short, Morocco flat-lined.
Here is what you have been saying over in our match discussion, in reaction to events in Boston.
Paul K: “That was dreadful from Morocco.”
Alan C: “You will find many teams will look dreadful when playing France.”
John H: “France have been one of the best teams in the world for years. This time around their level is exceptional. That doesn’t mean they will win the World Cup but up to now, it’s hard to see who can stop them.”
phil.robson100: “A shockingly boring one-sided game. Morocco were dreadful but understand what they tried to do and why. France look unbeatable as they have from day 1.”
Anon: “Morocco should’ve gone the Paraguay route!”
A reminder you can join the chat here, or you can send us your thoughts in an email to live@theathletic.com
They have done it again.
Since first winning the World Cup on home soil in 1998, France have established themselves as one of the most consistently successful teams in international football.
They have won the trophy just once more, in 2018, but they have reached two more finals, a quarter-final and now another semi-final.
It means France will now play in their eighth World Cup semi-final — and that equals Brazil, with only Germany (12) qualifying for more.
Perhaps the most surprising statistic from today’s game — at least for those who watched it — would be the fact Morocco had more possession than France.
It did not feel that way. In fact it seemed like France were utterly dominant.
The rest of the post-match metrics — from shots, to expected goals, to the final scoreline — bear out that view.
There weren’t too many Morocco players who came out of that game with loads of credit, but Azzedine Ounahi was certainly one of them.
He was everywhere for the AFCON champions and caused some real problems for France between both penalty areas. His driving runs were a feature of his side’s semi-final run four years ago, and he powered his way through the midfield a few times today.
The 26-year-old was part of a Girona team that was relegated from the Spanish top flight last season. Surely he will not be short of suitors if he wishes to leave this summer.
By starting this quarter-final against Morocco, Kylian Mbappe equalled a record set by former goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, of 20 World Cup appearances for France.
It moved Mbappe ahead of Antoine Griezmann (19) to become the Frenchman with the most appearances by an outfield player.
And by doing so at 27 years, 201 days, Mbappe became the youngest player from any nation to hit the 20-appearance mark at World Cups, beating the record set by Poland’s Wladislaw Zmuda (28 years 34 days).
Mbappe also scored the opening goal of a World Cup match for the seventh time. Only Lionel Messi (11) has done so more often.
More from France captain Kylian Mbappe now, who says there is only on thing driving him and his team-mates at this tournament — and they haven’t attained it yet. Mbappe said, via FIFA:
💬 “The secret to this France team? There’s only one way to relax, and that’s by winning. Until we’ve done that, we don’t let up. We’re in the semi-finals and we’re very happy, but there’s still a long way to go.
“We realise what lies ahead is even tougher than what we’ve been through, but we’re ready to face anything.”
That sounds pretty ominous for everyone else.
With a goal and an assist today, Kylian Mbappe claimed yet another piece is history — by becoming the first player to register 10 or more goal involvements in two different World Cups since such records started being kept in 1966.
So far in this tournament, Mbappe has eight goals and three assists to add to his eight goals and two assists in Qatar four years ago.
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