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France has made it to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time. It beat Morocco 2-0 and secured a ticket to the last 4. Kylian Mbappe made a strong comeback after missing a penalty kick in the first half, scoring a goal and an assist as Morocco’s dreams of a second consecutive semi-final were shattered. Ousmane Dembele scored the second goal for France. Now it will face Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals on Tuesday in Dallas.

Mbappe’s goal in the 60th minute was the 20th goal of his World Cup career. He is just one goal behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Dembele scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the 66th minute. France had defeated Morocco by the same margin in the semi-finals played in Qatar in 2022. France is now on the verge of becoming the third country to play three consecutive World Cup finals.

Mbappe’s storm in the second half

No goals could be scored in the first half of this quarter-final match held at Boston Stadium. Mbappe’s storm was seen in the second half. Mbappe scored his goal with a precise shot just inside the far post after Morocco failed to clear the ball. He received the ball just outside the box and then took a few steps forward and put it into the net. France scored the second goal when Mbappé took a pass and sent it back to Dembélé. Mbappé kept moving forward and the defenders also moved with him. This gave Dembele a chance to score.

France fired 8 shots on target

During the match, France led 21-4 in terms of shots on goal and 8-1 in terms of shots on target. The first shot was also made by Mbappe in the fourth minute, which went slightly outside the right side of the goal. Then in the 25th minute, as he was moving down the left, he was brought down by Moroccan defender Noucair Mazraoui inside the box. Due to this, France got a penalty but Mbappe’s shot towards the right corner was stopped by goalkeeper Yassin Bonu after guessing the right direction.

Morocco’s best chance to score came just before the half-time whistle when Ashraf Hakimi took a free kick from outside the box that went wide of the right post. France now has a chance to play in three consecutive World Cup finals like Brazil and West Germany.

Mbappe suffered ankle injury

Mbappé circled around with his arms outstretched after scoring his eighth goal in this World Cup. Later, due to fear of injury, while leaving the field, he waved to the French fans present in the stadium. The star striker had suffered an injury to his right ankle. Mbappe fell to the ground in the 76th minute, about 13 minutes after the Moroccan defender hit him hard and was then substituted. After reaching the bench, he had an ice pack on his right ankle but after the match was over, he was seen running to celebrate with his teammates. Mbappe said after the match that he was fine.