Kylian Mbappe spread his arms out wide and spun around after scoring his eighth goal of this year\u2019s World Cup. He later gave the jubilant France fans dotted around the stadium a wave when he left the game because of an injury scare.<\/p>\n
Les Bleus, with a star striker who said he’s fine despite a right ankle issue, are headed back to the semifinals for the third straight World Cup tournament.<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 had a goal and an assist after missing a first-half penalty kick, Ousmane Dembele also scored and two-time champion France beat Morocco 2-0 Thursday in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s only one way to relax, and that\u2019s by winning. Until we\u2019ve done that, we don\u2019t let up,” Mbapp\u00e9 said. “We\u2019re in the semifinals and we\u2019re very happy, but there\u2019s still a long way to go.”<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s goal in the 60th minute was the 20th of his World Cup career and came in his 20th match at the tournament, moving him one behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the 66th.<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 went down to the ground in the 76th minute, about 13 minutes after being hit hard by a Moroccan defender, and was taken off for a substitute a minute later. He was then shown sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle.<\/p>\n
After the match and with both shoes on, Mbapp\u00e9 ran and jumped in celebration with his teammates.<\/p>\n
“I took a knock to the ankle, but I\u2019m fine,” Mbapp\u00e9 said. “At that point, JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) was in better shape than I was to play the final minutes.”<\/p>\n
France will face either Spain or Belgium in the semifinals in Dallas on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
France beat Morocco by the same score in the semifinals of the 2022 tournament in Qatar when the Atlas Lions became the first African team to make it that far. France now remains on track to become only the third nation to play in the final of three consecutive World Cups.<\/p>\n
“It is a confirmation of how we\u2019ve played so far,” said France coach Didier Deschamps, who added there is a reason for his team’s success in recent World Cups.<\/p>\n
“Having great players. Excellent players. My credit goes to the players. But maybe I do my job well,” he said. “The only truth is the one on the pitch.”<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 got his goal with a perfectly placed shot just inside the far post after Morocco failed to clear the ball. He received the ball just outside the area, took a couple steps forward and then sent his shot sailing into the net. He extended both arms and ran to the sideline to celebrate with his teammates.<\/p>\n
France’s second goal came after Mbapp\u00e9 took a pass and tapped it back for Demb\u00e9l\u00e9. Mbapp\u00e9 kept running forward and took defenders with him, opening space for Demb\u00e9l\u00e9’s shot.<\/p>\n
Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 said he wasn’t surprised with how Mbapp\u00e9 stepped up after his penalty miss in the first half.<\/p>\n
“He’s our captain and he has an incredible mentality,” Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 said. “We’re expecting even more goals from him.”<\/p>\n
France held a 21-4 advantage in shots on goal and 8-1 edge in shots on target for the game.<\/p>\n
“We are very disappointed. We wanted to go on,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. “When we had ball possession, our transitions were not great and we had to run a little more. Their players were in their comfort zone.”<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 also had the first shot on goal of the game, just missing wide right in the fourth minute. Then, in the 25th, he was running up the left side when he was chopped down in the box by Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui. Referee Facundo Tello quickly pointed to the penalty spot.<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 lined up waiting for his attempt but was held up by a lengthy video review. He was finally cleared to shoot in the 28th minute, but after a hesitation, Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s shot toward the right corner was corralled by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who guessed the direction of the shot correctly.<\/p>\n
Deschamps said the long review also included a review for another foul.<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 made his only other penalty attempt at this year’s World Cup in France\u2019s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16.<\/p>\n
Still, France was by far the more active team offensively in the first half, holding a 13-1 advantage in shots on goal.<\/p>\n
Morocco\u2019s best opportunity came just before the halftime whistle when Achraf Hakimi sent a free kick from just outside the box past the right post.<\/p>\n
France now has a chance to emulate Brazil and West Germany in reaching three straight World Cup finals.<\/p>\n
“We realize that what lies ahead is even tougher than what we\u2019ve been through,” Mbapp\u00e9 said, “but we\u2019re ready to face anything.”<\/p>\n
Reporting by the Associated Press.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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