- Full Time
- M. Gusto on for J. Koundé87'
- 85'A. Sbaï on for C. Talbi
- B. Barcola on for D. Doué77'
- J. Mateta on for K. Mbappé77'
- 74'G. Yassine on for B. Díaz
- 74'Z. El Ouahdi on for A. Salah-Eddine
- W. Zaïre-Emery on for M. Koné71'
- O. Dembélé66'
- 63'I. Diop
- 62'S. Amrabat on for A. Bouaddi
- 62'S. Rahimi on for B. El Khannouss
- K. Mbappé60'
- Half Time
- K. Mbappé Penalty saved28'
- Kick Off
-
1
Kylian Mbappé1 - 2Ousmane Dembélé1
- 1Kylian Mbappé4
- 2Ousmane Dembélé4
- 3Désiré Doué3
- 1
Anass Salah-Eddine2 - 2Désiré Doué2
- 3Dayot Upamecano2
- 1Kylian Mbappé1
- 2Désiré Doué1
- 1Kylian Mbappé4
- 2Ousmane Dembélé4
- 3Désiré Doué3
- 1Azzedine Ounahi61
- 2Dayot Upamecano59
- 3William Saliba57
- 1Azzedine Ounahi5
- 2Michael Olise4
- 3Achraf Hakimi2
- 1Adrien Rabiot3
- 2Brahim Díaz2
- 3Issa Diop2
It didn’t take long for France to start applying the pressure and within three minutes they had a great chance to take the lead through Dayot Upamecano but the Bayern Munich defender’s header from inside the six yard box was pushed away by Yassine Bounou.
Morocco started to feel their way into the game and will have been devastated to give away a penalty just before the first hydration break when Kylian Mbappe proved too quick for Noussair Mazraoui who bundled over the French skipper in the box.
Mbappe dusted himself down but after a lengthy delay, his fairly weak penalty was easily stopped by Bounou, diving to his left.
Desire Doue was the next man up to test Bounou, but again he was equal to the attempt – a low shot from inside the box after the PSG forward drove at the Moroccan defence from a midfield position.
France came the closest they’d come in the whole half in injury-time with a stunning long-range effort from Lucas Digne which required a tip onto the crossbar from Bounou.
The chances continued to flow after the break and Michael Olise set up Kylian Mbappe with an ingenious bit of skill, but the Real Madrid man will have been glad to see the offside flag go up after he blazed the shot over the bar.
Finally the breakthrough came and of course it was Mbappe to be the man to make the difference. The 27 year old found a little space on the left side of the box after Desire Doue found him with a delicate pass. From there, he was able to curl a right-footed shot around Issa Diop and just inside the far post to put les Bleus into a well-earned lead.
And once the first goal came, the second felt inevitable and it came six minutes later. Ousmane Dembele was the goalscorer this time, with space opening up for the PSG man on the edge of the box – his low right-footed shot found the bottom corner despite Bounou getting a hand to it on the way through.
Morocco didn’t pose much of a threat in terms of a comeback. Azzedine Ounahi had one effort that was comfortably parried away by Mike Maignan after a short free-kick from Hakimi. From the resulting corner Neil El Aynaoui’s flicked-on header landed in the side-netting.
France meanwhile continued searching for a third. Substitute Bradley Barcola’s near-post effort was well saved by Bounou and Jean-Philippe Mateta’s header from the resulting corner flew over the bar. The Crystal Palace forward had one more attempt in injury-time, dancing round a defender’s legs but seeing his low strike stopped by the outstretched left leg of Bounou.
By this point however, the writing was on the wall and France’s. The only potential problem? An injury to Kylian Mbappe. Although the irrepressible forward seemed to leave the pitch without too many issues, a large ice pack was spotted on his bench on the ankle. They’ll be desperate to ensure he’s fully fit for Tuesday’s semi-final against either Spain or Belgium in Texas.
Read more:
