France Beats Morocco 2-0 to Reach the World Cup Semifinals, and Mbappé Made You Wait for It
France beat Morocco 2-0 on Thursday to reach the 2026 World Cup semifinals. It took Kylian Mbappé a missed penalty, a three-minute VAR delay, and one very cold-blooded second half to get there.
This was the quarterfinal everyone circled the moment the bracket came out. Morocco knocked France out of the semifinals four years ago in Qatar. This time France got the rematch, and this time France won.
The penalty nobody will forget
The first big moment came in the 25th minute. Noussair Mazraoui brought Mbappé down inside the box, and the referee pointed to the spot. Then everyone waited. VAR took three minutes and 12 seconds to confirm the call.
By the time Mbappé finally stepped up, the rhythm was gone. Yassine Bounou, Morocco’s keeper, guessed right and saved it comfortably. Broadcaster Ally McCoist called it a “shocking penalty” live on air.
It was a rare miss on a huge stage, and it was also Mbappé’s record-equalling 20th World Cup appearance for France. For about 35 minutes, it looked like the story of the night.
Then he scored anyway
Mbappé didn’t sulk. On the hour mark, he curled a shot into the far corner past Bounou for his eighth goal of the tournament. Redemption, one clean strike.
He wasn’t done. Minutes later he slipped the ball to Ousmane Dembélé, who curled a low finish past Bounou to make it 2-0. Game over. For all the first-half drama, France closed it out like a team that has been here before, because it has.
The internet had thoughts about that VAR wait
The penalty delay became its own storyline. Even players weighed in.
Erling Haaland posted on Snapchat, then quickly deleted it:
“Need to wait 5 min to take a penalty is way too long.”
Moroccan fans back home, meanwhile, treated Bounou’s save like a trophy of its own. Clips of the stop, and the reaction to it, spread fast:
“Bono reading Mbappé like a book. We’ll take that one.”
Others pointed out how strange it is to feel bad for a guy who scored the winner anyway:
“Mbappé misses a pen and everyone panics, then he just casually wins the game. Ridiculous player.”
What it means for the bracket
France is through to the semifinals for the second straight World Cup. They’ll face the winner of Friday’s Spain vs. Belgium quarterfinal in Los Angeles, another matchup with real weight to it.
Morocco goes home, but not quietly. Reaching a second straight quarterfinal against the sport’s biggest names is its own kind of statement, even if the ending stings.
If you’ve been following the whole run, it’s worth catching up on the full 2026 knockout bracket and what’s left in the quarterfinals to see how the path to the final is shaping up.
For more World Cup coverage as the knockout rounds heat up, follow our Trending section.
Mbappé missed the penalty and still walked off as the best player on the field. That’s the kind of night that ends up in the highlight reel either way.
