​Even when Kylian Mbappe appeared fallible, he soon showed flashes of his extraordinary quality. Over the past month he has been taking cues from Lionel Messi, and when a rare misstep—demonstrating that even the greats can miss penalties—threatened to unsettle him, Mbappe delivered the reaction that has long defined the Argentinian maestro. He found the net, and in doing so, the Moroccan resistance cracked under a moment of pure majesty. France beat Morocco 2-0 in the 2022 semi-final and repeated the scoreline in a rematch as Mbappe steered his side toward a third straight final. After scoring, he added his third assist of the tournament, setting up Ousmane Dembele to seal a deserved victory.
Mbappe left the field with his arm raised to acknowledge the applause, an ice pack placed on his right foot as a precaution rather than a sign of lingering injury, suggesting he would be fit for the Bastille Day semi-final against Spain or Belgium. The moment of celebration after the final whistle also felt like a routine precaution rather than a signal of doubt.
The broader narrative of the tournament has been a subtle contest between Mbappe and Messi for the Golden Ball, the Golden Boot, and ultimately the World Cup itself. Mbappe, France’s captain, drew level with Messi on eight World Cup goals in the United States, and his overall World Cup tally now stands at 20 from 20 matches. It might have been 21 were it not for the brilliance of Yassine Bounou.
In the opening minutes, the Moroccan goalkeeper threatened to derail Didier Deschamps’ ambitions. Morocco, though briefly lacking in danger at the other end, still witnessed one of the finest goalkeeping performances of the past month. Bounou is renowned as a penalty specialist, a reputation reinforced by his record against the Netherlands, and he added to that standing by repelling Mbappe’s spot-kick after Noussair Mazraoui, deployed as a makeshift centre-back, tripped the PSG forward. The decision to award the penalty came after a long VAR check that stretched to three minutes and twelve seconds; Mbappe’s run-up was unhurried and his attempt was a tame side-foot routine that Bounou held with ease.
His resilience had already become evident early on. The Moroccan keeper produced two superb saves to deny Mbappe from 20 yards and to repel Dayot Upamecano’s header from close range. He was again outstanding when Desire Doue intercepted Ayyoub Bouaddi’s deflected move and advanced to shoot. Just before halftime, he superbly tipped Lucas Digne’s swerving shot onto the crossbar, underscoring the breadth of his impact.
Yet even as the saves piled up, it became clear that beating Bounou would require something special, and Mbappe delivered with a precise, curling strike from the edge of the box, his backlift minimal and his execution flawless. The shot clipped the inside of the post and into the net, a piercing reminder that creativity, precision, and composure are the hallmarks of his game. Morocco’s appeals that Adrien Rabiot had touched the ball in the build-up went unheeded, and the moment Mbarek’s lines of defense began to crack, Mbappe seized his opportunity to change the course of the match.