By Joseph Armstrong-Gardner
Kylian Mbappe scored his 8th goal of the tournament last night to tie him with Lionel Messi for joint top scorers in the World Cup so far.
Mbappe earned his first half penalty when he was fouled by Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui, with the Moroccan right back chopping down Mbappe from behind.
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The penalty kick was given after an agonizingly long VAR check that saw everyone in the stadium hold their breath.
Mbappé stepped up but produced a poor effort from the spot that was easily saved by Yassine Bounou.
Real Madrid’s star striker soon made amends for his miss in the 60th minute with a goal for the highlight reel, a scintillating curling shot from just inside the penalty area, whipped into the side netting to give France a much-deserved lead.
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Current Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele doubled France’s advantage six minutes later when he was given freedom to run at Morocco’s backline, with his low, powerful strike into the net despite Bounou getting a hand to the ball, the shot was too powerful for the goalkeeper to save.
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So on, France go to the World Cup Semi-Finals to play either Spain or Belgium, with both nations looking like a tough assignment for France regardless of who advances.