Mbappe strikes again as France reach semi-finals

France booked their place in the World Cup semi-finals with a commanding 2-0 victory over Morocco, powered by goals from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé. The win sets up a last-four clash against either Belgium or Spain.

Kylian Mbappé, despite missing a penalty earlier in the match, opened the scoring in the 60th minute with a superb curling shot. Just six minutes later, Ousmane Dembélé doubled France's lead with a low drive into the net, capitalizing on space created by Mbappé's earlier run.

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Mbappe made amends for his miss on the hour mark with a quick look up and superb finish and before Morocco had time to recover they struck again through Dembele.

Mbappé's performance was historic, as he not only scored his 20th World Cup goal, placing him second on the all-time French list, but also equaled Hugo Lloris's record of 20 World Cup appearances for France. He is now the tournament's joint top scorer with eight goals, level with Lionel Messi.

Morocco, who were aiming for a second consecutive semi-final appearance, struggled to create chances and failed to register a shot on target until the 84th minute. Injured striker Ismael Saibari was notably missed. France, meanwhile, controlled the game from the outset, demonstrating hunger and creating early opportunities, including a penalty that Mbappé could not convert.

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The forward, who forms a formidable frontline with Mbappe and Michael Olise, made use of the space opened up by Mbappe’s run to rifle in their second goal and his fifth of the tournament.