​Following the heated Argentina-Egypt clash, Morocco’s quarterfinal showdown with France did not escape controversy. While France controlled most of the match and won 2-0, the post-match comments from Moroccan coach Mohamed Ouahbi rekindled a new debate, this time centered on Kylian Mbappé. Mbappé opened the scoring for France, yet Ouahbi contended that a handball occurred before the goal, leaving him skeptical about whether the strike should have stood.
Ouahbi questioned whether some players didn’t continue play because of a handball in France’s buildup, insisting there was hand contact that should have been disallowed. “Some players stopped because there was a handball in France’s goal! And there was definitely a handball! I don’t know why they didn’t disallow Mbappé’s goal,” he said after the game.
The incident arose in the 60th minute when Adrien Rabiot appeared to touch the ball with his hand to win possession in midfield. Moments later, Désiré Doué delivered a through ball to Mbappé, who curled home a superb finish to break the deadlock at 0-0. As soon as the hand contact occurred, several Moroccan players paused and protested to the referee. Under FIFA rules, a handball that directly leads to a goal typically triggers a VAR review, but the on-field referee allowed the goal to stand without consulting the pitchside monitor. This decision sparked strong frustration among fans and Morocco’s bench.
On closer examination, it was suggested that the VAR did not penalize the action because the hand contact was deemed circumstantial, not immediate, and occurred before a subsequent change in possession. Even so, circulating photos and videos have only intensified the discussion. Despite the uproar, France advanced to the semifinals, where they would meet either Spain or Belgium.
Ouahbi acknowledged France’s dominance even as he criticized the first goal. “We are disappointed, but the first half was very difficult; the French were very good with the ball. They had a lot of possession, they caused a lot of problems on the flanks with their players, and also in the center,” he said. “We have to recognize that they’re a great team. They have excellent players and had better goal-scoring opportunities. We lacked ideas and freshness to do more when we had possession. We have to accept this defeat. It is hard to talk so soon after the match, but it’s also difficult to talk about regrets when we got to the quarter-final.”
Yet Ouahbi remained hopeful about his team’s trajectory, stressing the potential of a bright future. “The future is going to be beautiful. We played a very good side. It is difficult to talk about regrets when you are in a quarterfinal. We have a young team and talented players, and we will continue to grow.”
Morocco’s World Cup run ended with a semifinal absence this year as it had in the prior edition, and once again, Mbappé proved to be the decisive differentiator between the two sides.