Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty but scored a superb goal on the hour mark as France scored twice in six minutes to beat Morocco 2-0 on Friday and reach the World Cup semi-finals.
Striker Mbappe, who at 27 became the youngest player to reach 20 World Cup appearances, also scored his 20th finals goal with an accurate shot from inside the box before Ousmane Dembele struck to set up a last-four clash with Belgium or Spain.
France captain Mbappe is the tournament’s joint top scorer with eight goals, level with Lionel Messi, and is one goal behind the Argentine on the all-time World Cup goalscoring list.
In the second semi-final of the 2022 World Cup, France appeared to be hungry throughout, while Morocco, aiming to advance to the second stage in a row, missed the seriously injured striker Ismael Saibari and failed to hit the target until the 84th minute.
The French, aiming to become only the third nation to reach three consecutive World Cup finals, started well with several early chances.
Mbappe, who also equaled France’s all-time record held by Hugo Lloris for World Cup appearances, had an opportunity to drive home which Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was able to clear.
