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Bunu dove to the left and firmly pressed Mbappé's penalty kick onto the turf.
Bounou lunged to his left and smothered Mbappé's penalty firmly into the turf.
Mbappé's personal streak of 15 consecutive successful penalties for the French national team came to an end in the 26th minute. The last time he missed a penalty for his country was against Switzerland at Euro 2021. Five years, 15 out of 15, shattered tonight.
At the Gillette Stadium in Boston, a World Cup quarterfinal. The French team in the first half was like a jammed machine. 13 shots, only 1 on target, zero goals. 49% possession, the French turned ball control into a rosary, while the Moroccans packed their penalty area like a phone booth. The cheers from the Al Maha Island fan zone came in waves.
Mbappé erased all the first-half embarrassment in 6 minutes.
In the 60th minute, from the edge of the box, a curled shot with his right foot. The ball arced into the net. A ruthlessly clinical finish—half an hour earlier, he was the villain who missed the penalty; half an hour later, he became the hero who broke the deadlock.
This was Mbappé's 8th goal of the World Cup, tying Messi for the top of the scoring charts. His total World Cup career goals reached 20, just one shy of Messi's historical record of 21. An even more staggering number: 11 goals in 10 World Cup knockout matches, the best in history. Knockout games are win-or-go-home meat grinders; others struggle to accumulate a few goals in a lifetime, but he averages over one per game.
6 minutes later, the Moroccan defense was already torn apart. Mbappé laid it off, Dembélé scored from outside the box. 2-0, the suspense was snuffed out instantly.
The full-time stats read like an autopsy report of a one-sided massacre. Shots 22 to 5, shots on target 8 to 1, xG 3.04 to 0.14. Morocco generated only 0.14 expected goals, equivalent to a single half-chance. France's fifth consecutive win this tournament, 14 goals scored and 2 conceded, advancing to the semifinals for the third straight time.
Deschamps said a very honest thing in his post-match interview: "With the quality of this team, reaching the semifinals three times in a row feels like a natural progression."
Those words, "natural progression," neatly concealed the precarious calculations in the locker room.
In the 77th minute, the scene changed abruptly.
Mbappé took a knock to his right ankle and gestured to the bench for a substitution. Mateta came on for him. The broadcast camera panned to the bench, where an ice pack was already wrapped around his ankle. A star player injured in a World Cup quarterfinal—a sight that could give the French federation officials a heart attack on the spot.
After the final whistle, the same man jumped up from the bench, celebrating and bouncing with his teammates. The ice pack was still lying at his feet. In the ITV studio, Roy Keane saw this and quipped, "Hopefully he won't go jumping over an advertising board." England's Henderson, after beating Mexico, had slipped while vaulting an advertising board, fractured his wrist, and was ruled out for the entire World Cup.
Mbappé himself put the matter to rest. In a post-match interview with M6, he said directly: "My ankle got kicked, but it's nothing serious." Regarding the substitution, he explained, "I let Mateta come on because he was in better form, and the last 15 minutes suited him better." He sounded like a coach, not an injured player.
Deschamps followed up: "Mbappé's ankle injury is minor and won't affect his availability for the semifinal."
July 14th, Dallas. France vs. the winner of Spain and Belgium. Deschamps' squad has enough depth to field two competitive lineups. Mbappé's ankle is fine, Olise has already provided 5 assists this tournament, Koné had a knee collision that caused cramping but is not a major issue.
This quarterfinal also had a less-mentioned footnote. Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, Mbappé's former teammate at Paris Saint-Germain, and the two are close friends. After the match, Mbappé spoke about him: "On the pitch, there are no emotions—only the goal of winning. But facing him in the locker room will be tough, because we are close friends."
When Mbappé's penalty was saved by Bounou, who was behind Hakimi, Hakimi probably had no time to think about friendship.