Soccer
Kylian Mbappe knows there is no space for complacency within France’s ranks as they target World Cup glory.
France cruised to a 2-0 victory over Morocco at Boston Stadium on Thursday, securing their spot in the semi-finals with relative ease.
Les Bleus gave up just five shots, with only one of those on target, with Morocco creating chances worth a mere 0.14 expected goals (xG).
Mbappe was in the thick of the action. After seeing a first-half penalty saved, the 27-year-old curled in a sublime 60th-minute opener before teeing up Ousmane Dembele to make it 2-0 soon after.
2 – There’s only been four occasions in the last 60 years a player has scored, assisted and missed a penalty in a World Cup match – two have been in the last three days…
Lionel Messi vs Egypt
Kylian Mbappé vs MoroccoAmends. pic.twitter.com/XoQnrcizNa
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 9, 2026
France will now contest their eighth World Cup semi-final, equalling Brazil, with only Germany (12) qualifying for more, while Didier Deschamps’ team are the Opta supercomputer’s favourites to win the tournament, with a 37.5% probability.
But Mbappe, who went off with a knock but confirmed he is unhurt, knows France cannot take anything for granted, with Spain or Belgium up next.
“There’s no room for complacency. There’s still a long way to go, what awaits us is even harder, but we’ll recover well,” Mbappe said, as quoted by RMC Sport, citing beIN Sports and M6.
Mbappe equalled Hugo Lloris for appearances at the World Cup for France (20), while he now has the outright most games at the finals for an outfielder for Les Bleus (overtaking Antoine Griezmann on 19).
At 27 years and 201 days, Mbappe is the youngest player for any nation to reach 20 appearances at the tournament, breaking Wladislaw Zmuda’s record (28 years 34 days).
Mbappe has now registered 10+ goal involvements in both of the last two World Cups (eight goals, two assists in 2022, eight goals and three assists in 2026) – he is only the only player on record (since 1966) to achieve this in two different tournaments.
His 11 goal involvements in 2026 are the most by a single player since Gerd Muller in 1970 (10 goals, three assists).
11 – Kylian Mbappé has been involved in 11 goals at the 2026 World Cup (8 goals, 3 assists).
That’s the most by a player in a single edition since 🇩🇪 Gerd Müller in 1970 (10 goals, 3 assists).
Productive. pic.twitter.com/sJ6P4jU2dL
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 9, 2026
The Real Madrid superstar is now level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race, while he is on 20 World Cup goals in total, just one behind the Argentina icon, who will be hoping to extend his record when the reigning champions face Switzerland on Saturday.
Thursday’s quarter-final put Mbappe up against his former Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Achraf Hakimi, but France’s captain said there was no time to be sentimental.
“There’s no emotion, I’m here to win, he was here to win,” Mbappe said.
“It will be harder in the locker room when I see him again because he’s a very close friend.”
Deschamps, meanwhile, became the first coach to oversee 20 wins at the World Cup.
This was his 25th World Cup match in charge overall, equalling Helmut Schon’s tournament record, so Deschamps will make history in the semi-finals.
“Three [World Cup semi-finals] in a row, that’s good. It seems logical and natural, but you have to achieve it,” Descamps said.
“I imagine there’s a lot of excitement in France, but here we’re a bit in our own bubble. We’re taking another step today, we’re back in the final four. We’re still here!”
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