Mbappe Warns 'a Long Way to Go' for France at World Cup After Reaching Semis
Mbappe scored his eighth World Cup goal as France became the first team to reach the semifinals after a VAR delay on an early penalty.
- On Thursday, Kylian Mbappe confronted the referee during the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against Morocco after a VAR review caused a three-minute delay before his penalty attempt.
- Morocco's goalkeeper Yassine Bounou blocked the penalty attempt, keeping the score at 0-0 after Mbappe struggled to reset his routine following the lengthy wait.
- France eventually secured a 2-0 victory as Mbappe scored first to take the lead, then teammate Ousmane Dembele added a second strike.
- With the victory, France qualified for the semifinals as the first team to advance, where they await the winner of Friday's Spain and Belgium matchup.
- Meanwhile, Haaland is observing the competition as Norway prepares to face England this weekend, trailing Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race with seven goals.
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34 Articles
France on to semifinals after shutout of Morocco
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — 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…
"I don't see the World Cup Winners' Cup next to me, so until it's different, this is not the strongest French team," said captain Kylian Mbappe about the strength of the French football team after their victory in the quarter-finals.
'Way Too Long', Erling Haaland Reacts To Long Penalty Delay That Disrupted Kylian Mbappe's Penalty in France vs Morocco FIFA World Cup 2026 QF | ⚽ LatestLY
Erling Haaland delivers a blunt verdict after Kylian Mbappé's first-half penalty was saved during France's 2-0 victory over Morocco in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal on July 9, 2026, at Boston Stadium. Haaland's comments highlight his 'old school' football philosophy. France secured their semi-final spot with goals from Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé. ⚽ 'Way Too Long', Erling Haaland Reacts To Long Penalty Delay That Disrupted Kylian Mbappe's …
Mbappe warns 'a long way to go' for France at World Cup after reaching semis
"I don't know if you can say we are on a mission. That is the easy term to use. But I think we are aware that the only way to let up is by winning," Mbappe told French broadcaster M6 after an eventful quarter-final tie in which he had a first-half penalty saved but later opened the scoring. "We are in the semi-finals and we are very pleased. There is still a long way to go and we are aware that what awaits is going to be even harder, but we are …
Kylian Mbappe enters World Cup immortality against Morocco with numbers even football's greatest could not match
Kylian Mbappe recovered from a missed a penalty to inspire France past Morocco, breaking historic World Cup and national-team records on a landmark night.
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