Mbappe shrugs off injury scare as he hits 20-goal World Cup mark

Kylian Mbappe eased fears over his fitness after leaving France’s World Cup quarterfinal victory early Thursday, insisting he is “completely fine” after scoring his 20th career World Cup goal in a 2-0 win over Morocco that sent the defending champions into a third consecutive semifinal.

The French superstar was substituted in the 77th minute, prompting concern among supporters, but quickly downplayed the issue after the match, saying the decision was purely precautionary.

“I have a minor ankle injury, but I’m completely fine,” Mbappe said after the final whistle. “(Jean-Philippe) Mateta was in a better position to play the remaining minutes of the match and was fitter at that moment. That’s all that happened.”

Mbappe walked off under his own power and waved to the crowd with both arms before taking his place on the bench, easing fears that France could be without its biggest star for next week’s semifinal.

Before his exit, the 27-year-old delivered another milestone performance, breaking the deadlock in the 60th minute with his eighth goal of the tournament and the 20th of his World Cup career. The strike kept him level with Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot, while Messi still holds a one-goal advantage in the all-time World Cup scoring charts.

After missing a first-half penalty that was saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, Mbappe responded in trademark fashion. A deflected ball fell kindly to him just outside the penalty area, and he curled a precise right-footed shot around defender Issa Diop and inside the left post to give France the breakthrough.

Ousmane Dembele doubled France’s advantage six minutes later, capping a swift counterattack after Morocco pushed numbers forward in search of an equalizer. Mbappe’s run to the left created space for Dembele, who fired a low right-footed effort from about 20 yards. Although Bounou got a hand to the shot, he could not keep it out.

Dembele’s goal continued his impressive turnaround after failing to score in his first 12 World Cup appearances. The reigning Ballon d’Or winner has now found the net five times in his last five matches at the tournament.

France’s victory secured a place in the semifinals for the third consecutive World Cup, keeping alive its bid to become only the third nation to reach three straight finals. Les Bleus will face the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between Spain and Belgium on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.

“I want them to continue watching the games, giving us the strength,” Mbappe said of the French supporters. “Even though they’re not in the stadium, we feel their energy. And we will try to gather the masses for the next matches.”

France largely controlled the match against a Morocco side missing injured forward Ismael Saibari. The Atlas Lions were held scoreless for the first time in the tournament and were eliminated by France for the second straight World Cup after also losing 2-0 in the 2022 semifinals.

Morocco, the final African nation remaining in the competition after nine of the continent’s 10 qualifiers reached the knockout stage, struggled to create clear opportunities. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan was rarely troubled, making his only significant save in the 83rd minute when he comfortably stopped a long-range effort from Azzedine Ounahi.

“Of course we need to take stock of the situation if we want to progress; it’s essential,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. “We cannot just say that we’re happy and proud of what we’ve done. We need to move forward, and in order to do so, we have to be objective and to do some self-criticism.”

France manager Didier Deschamps praised his side for overcoming another difficult knockout test while immediately turning his attention to the semifinal.

“We are exactly where we wanted to be,” Deschamps said. “We will recover well and see who our opponent will be. I imagine there’s a lot of excitement and passion in France. Here, we are in our own bubble, and I am even more so. That’s what we’re here for, and the players have a duty to do everything they can to go as far as possible. We’ve cleared a major hurdle.”

DAILYSABAH