FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In a display of champion-level resilience that has become his trademark, Kylian Mbappé shook off an early penalty miss and a second-half ankle injury to power defending World Cup champion France to a 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Morocco, securing the French national team’s spot in a third straight World Cup semifinal. The result leaves Les Bleus one win away from a trip to the final, with their superstar’s fitness now the only lingering question heading into the next round.
Mbappé’s afternoon at Gillette Stadium got off to a shaky start. In the 28th minute, he drew a foul from Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui inside the penalty box, earning a chance to put France ahead from the spot. But a lengthy VAR review disrupted his focus, and Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou read his attempt correctly, diving left to turn the shot away. “It’s complicated, because there’s some kind of imbroglio,” Mbappé told reporters after the match. “I let myself be de-concentrated. That’s a scenario I hadn’t experienced yet.”
The world’s most celebrated forward did not let the setback slow him down. In the 60th minute, he cut into Morocco’s penalty area, shook off a defender, and fired a blistering strike that curled just inside the far post to put France ahead. The goal marked his eighth of the 2026 World Cup, pulling him level with Argentina captain Lionel Messi for the tournament’s Golden Boot lead. Just six minutes later, he set up Ousmane Dembélé for France’s second sealing goal, adding an assist to his matchday stats.
The momentum of the match shifted slightly in the 63rd minute, when Morocco defender Issa Diop stepped on Mbappé’s right ankle. The star played through the pain for another 13 minutes, before dropping to the turf and signaling to the French bench for medical attention. After a quick evaluation by training staff, he was substituted out for forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, leaving the pitch to applause from the stadium crowd and finishing the match on the bench with an ice pack wrapped around his injured ankle.
Both Mbappé and French head coach Didier Deschamps moved quickly to ease concerns about the forward’s fitness for the upcoming semifinal. “I took a knock to the ankle, but I’m fine,” Mbappé said. “At that point, JP was in better shape than I was to play the final minutes.” Deschamps echoed the assessment, telling reporters: “It’s a slight pain in the ankle. Nothing serious.” After the final whistle, Mbappé appeared to suffer no ill effects as he joined his teammates in celebrating the win, matching his usual upbeat demeanor.
The goal on Wednesday also moved Mbappé to 20 career World Cup goals in just 20 tournament appearances, leaving him one goal behind Messi’s all-time record of 21 World Cup goals set across six tournaments. With the Golden Boot tiebreaker going to the player with more assists, Mbappé currently holds the lead in the race for the tournament’s top scorer honor over Messi, who has also scored eight goals in 2026. Norway star Erling Haaland sits just behind the pair with seven goals heading into his side’s quarterfinal match on Saturday.
France will next face the winner of the upcoming quarterfinal between Spain and Belgium for a spot in the World Cup final. Remarkably, this is the third consecutive World Cup where France has advanced to the semifinal with Mbappé on the roster, and the team has reached the final in both of the previous two tournaments. When asked if this iteration of Les Bleus is the strongest squad he has played with for France, Mbappé struck a measured, focused tone.
“It has the most potential — for the time being,” he said. “But I always say that the strongest teams are the ones that win. I don’t see a World Cup trophy next to me, so for now, we’re not the strongest team.”
Staying focused on the ultimate prize has been the team’s approach through the tournament so far, Mbappé explained, with no room for celebration until the job is done. “There’s only one way to relax, and that’s by winning,” he said. “Until we’ve done that, we don’t let up. We’re in the semifinals and we’re very happy, but there’s still a long way to go. We realize that what lies ahead is even tougher than what we’ve been through, but we’re ready to face anything.”