Yaseen Maroufi had no qualms admitting that while Moroccans were hoping and praying for a different result, they came prepared to accept a French win. A match between France and Morocco, a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final which France also won 2-0, was expected to be the toughest test so far.
France’s intent was shown early on when Mbappe had a 25-yard strike pushed wide, with Bounou then keeping out Dayot Upamecano’s header from the following corner.
Dembele and Adrien Rabiot also missed opportunities, before Mbappe’s weak penalty. Mbappe had to wait more than three minutes before the spot-kick as the video assistant referee checked whether there was a foul, and Mbappe then stuttered in his run-up before his low shot to the right corner was easily saved. It was reflective of an indecisive and cagey first half of football, where both teams seemed to hold back on committing too much in front of goal for fear of getting found out at the back.
After half-time, Morocco seemed to have shed that fear and were the first to break into the French half, but the attempt, their only one on target, was saved. Suddenly, Mbappe was finding it easier to weave his way through the Moroccan defence on the left and, in the 60th minute, the move resulted in a goal for France – and an eighth World Cup 2026 goal for their talisman.
He soon turned creator for Ousmane Dembele, who scored his team’s second and his own fifth, making France the only team in the tournament’s history to have two players score five or more goals in the same World Cup.
