Quick hits: It's the Mbappé show again, as England defender cops ban

An England defender cops a whack for a red card tackle, Mbappé fluffs a penalty in Boston, but then produces a worldie and an injury scare.

Here are today's World Cup quick hits.

1. FIFA cracks down on England defender after red card

Red cards at this World Cup have taken on extra scrutiny after certain events, so perhaps it's no surprise that England defender Jarell Quansah has been handed a two-match ban for his terrible tackle against Mexico in the round of 16.

It means Quansah will miss England's quarterfinal match against Norway in Miami Gardens on Saturday and also the semifinals if Thomas Tuchel's team advances.

Quansah will only become available if we are seriously into "It's coming home!" territory and England makes it to the final.

He was sent off in the second half of England's 3-2 victory against Mexico on Sunday for a really dangerous sliding tackle on Jesus Gallardo.

FIFA confirmed the two-match suspension for serious foul play.

FIFA's handling of red card punishments has come under the spotlight after its disciplinary committee suspended the one-game penalty of star United States striker Folarin Balogun after President Donald Trump intervened and contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Infantino defended the independence of FIFA's disciplinary committee and insisted the Balogun case was properly handled.

This time, the disciplinary committee didn't mess about.

2. Mbappe's 'endless' penalty finishes in failure

France looked dominant in the early stages against Morocco at Boston Stadium, and they had plenty of chances, but nothing as big as one moment on the half-hour mark of the opening quarterfinal.

There was no surprise that when Kylian Mbappé was played into the penalty area, it spelled trouble for Morocco.

The French superstar shimmied and shook, this way and that, including step-overs before Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui ended the display with an ill-timed slide tackle.

It looked a rusted-on penalty … but even after the referee pointed to the spot, VAR took an age to check things out.

Eventually, Mbappé stepped up to take it.

Maybe he'd fallen asleep while waiting for his chance, or maybe the occasion got to him, but his low shot to the right corner was about 40 per cent power, and keeper Yassine Bounou was able to drop down and stop it.

That's Bounou's second penalty save of the World Cup, after stopping a spot-kick against Netherlands in the round of 32.

3. USA star fractured leg in loss to Belgium

Christian Pulisic's frustrating World Cup had a painful post-script, with news the United States star fractured his right leg in his team's loss to Belgium.

Pulisic has a bone bruise and a microfracture of his tibia and fibula, according to the US Soccer Federation; the diagnosis was made after an X-ray and MRI on Tuesday American time.

He would not have been able to play during the remainder of the tournament, even if the US had not lost 4-1 to Belgium.

As his team's most high-profile star, the spotlight was firmly on Pulisic at a home World Cup.

Pulisic hit the leg of Belgium captain Youri Tielemans while attempting a shot in the 52nd minute of Monday's 4-1 round-of-16 loss at Seattle. He remained in the game but was hobbling, and Sebastian Berhalter replaced him in the 59th minute.

Sadly for him, he failed to score in the World Cup, missing one of the Americans' five matches because of a calf injury and leaving two other games early. He has 30 goals in 90 international appearances.

We wish him well in his recovery.

4. Six-minute surge from France leaves Morocco flailing

After a rough first half, Monsieur Mbappé was clearly frustrated.

He changed his boots at half-time, and was spotted standing in the tunnel looking ready for business.

It took a quarter of an hour, but despite the rising tension, when it came, it was stunning but not that surprising.

His teammates found him with a little poke of a pass on the edge of the box, and Mbappé used his ridiculous mobility to generate enough space for a shot — his right-foot curler went round his defender and left Bounou flailing in mid-air to nestle in the corner of the net.

As the striker wheeled away to run towards the stands, he tapped his chest and signalled a number one with his finger. That's eight goals from the French superstar — and 20 for his World Cup career.

That was a huge dent in Morocco's hopes, and six minutes later Ousmane Dembélé charged through the middle before planting a superb strike wide of Bounou to make it two.

It was all over bar the shouting, and France were headed for their third straight semifinals at the World Cup.

5. Injury scare for Mbappé France's only concern

There was one act left for Mbappé, another crunching tackle which left him grimacing on the turf.

Morocco may have been heading home, but they wanted to leave an impression on France's talisman.

Coach Didier Deschamps left him out there for a while, but then took him off with 13 minutes left.

The slightly concerning image for French fans was the sight of Mbappé sitting on the bench, with ice wrapped around his lower leg and foot.

Hopefully it's precautionary because even with the embarrassment of riches in the team, Les Bleus would definitely miss him in a semifinal.

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