Mbappé fires France past Morocco and into the World Cup semis

France into the semis, Mbappé runs the show

Your team are through. France beat Morocco 2–0 in the World Cup quarter-finals Thursday, and it never looked in doubt (6). The performance was so dominant that one German outlet described France as being "from another planet" (2). Morocco's coach Mohamed Ouahbi could only tip his cap: "France has never had so much talent... and talent that runs" (9). Deschamps' formula is simple, give the stars freedom and let them cook (5).

Mbappé's numbers are becoming absurd

The captain added more records to his collection against Morocco. The French press ran the numbers after the match and the verdict was unanimous, historic (3). One Spanish stat account noted Bono saved four penalties across his World Cup career, tied for the most ever, and Mbappé still put France in control anyway.

That missed penalty and the run-up debate

Not everything was perfect. Mbappé stepped up for a penalty, Yassine Bounou saved it. French pundit Daniel Riolo was not impressed with the run-up: "C'est nul", it's rubbish (10). Fair criticism, but it did not matter in the end.

Mbappé: ankle is fine

Mbappé went down with an ankle knock during the match but dismissed concerns afterwards. "Everything is OK," he said (8). With the semifinal on Tuesday, that is exactly what you want to hear.

Fan reactions

French fans online are revelling in both the result and the stats. Bono became the joint record-holder for World Cup penalty saves, four, tied with Schumacher, Goycochea, Subasic, Casillas, and Livakovic, and your team still ran out comfortable winners. The mood is one of quiet confidence heading into the last four. Read more on r/soccer.