Mbappe magic sees off Morocco as France skipper shrugs off penalty miss

Kylian Mbappe shrugged off a missed penalty to star as France beat Morocco 2-0 in Boston to clinch their spot in the semi-finals of the World Cup.

The France captain won a penalty in the first half but after a lengthy delay before the kick, his tame effort was saved by Yassine Bounou. Mbappe was not to be denied, scoring one and assisting another for Ousmane Dembele after the break.

Morocco offered little in attack without the injured Ismael Saibari and bow out at the quarter-final stage. France, with Mbappe now on eight goals for the tournament, have bigger ambitions. Didier Deschamps' side will face Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals.

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The key moments from Boston

25 - PENALTY! Mazraoui lunged in on Mbappe to concede penalty.

28 - PENALTY MISSED! Mbappe's tame spot-kick saved by Bono.

35 - SAVE! Bouaddi dispossessed by Doue but shot was saved.

45+2 - BAR! Digne's swerving shot from distance struck crossbar.

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60 - GOAL! Mbappe found the far corner to fire France in front.

66 - GOAL! Dembele's shot crept beyond Bono to double the lead.

76 - SUB! Mbappe departed appearing unhurt after going down.

Can anyone stop Mbappe?

It was comfortable for France, really, even if they did have to wait until almost the hour mark to take the lead. In that sense, this was similar to the round-of-16 clash with Paraguay in which Mbappe scored even later - but Morocco were rather more subdued.

Dayot Upamecano missed a good chance early on. Desire Doue might have done better too. Lucas Digne struck the crossbar with a swerving shot. But the result never felt in doubt. The question now is whether there is anyone out there who can stop this team?

And, more specifically, can anyone stop Mbappe? If supporters of Spain or Belgium, even Argentina, Switzerland, Norway or England, hoped him going off late on was an indication of an injury, the sight of him dancing after the final whistle told the tale.

Mbappe, with eight goals and three assists now at this World Cup, is far from done yet. France are closing in on a third consecutive final appearance. And their skipper is chasing the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot to go with it. Do not bet against him.

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