Explained: Why Mbappe's penalty was delayed by more than three minutes against Morocco

Kylian Mbappe (AP Photo)

Kylian Mbappe was made to wait more than three minutes before taking his first-half penalty against Morocco in France's FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal at Boston Stadium in Foxborough.Mbappe won the penalty after Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui challenged him inside the box.

Referee Facundo Tello immediately pointed to the spot, but the kick was delayed while the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) reviewed the incident.

Why was the penalty delayed?

The VAR team checked whether Mbappe had gone down before contact from Mazraoui. Although the referee initially awarded the penalty, he waited for confirmation after speaking with VAR official Hernan Mastrangelo.Mbappe had already taken his position to shoot but was made to wait three minutes and 11 seconds before the review was completed.Once the penalty was confirmed, the France captain stepped up but his effort towards the right side was comfortably saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

Deschamps questions lengthy VAR review

France coach Didier Deschamps admitted the delay made things more difficult for his star forward."I believe there was a VAR review and then a second review which took two minutes. I'm not sure what happened."It took a while and Kylian was ready to shoot. I don't want to find excuses, but it wasn't an easy situation."

Despite the missed penalty, Mbappe bounced back in the second half by scoring France's opening goal before setting up Ousmane Dembele for the second in a 2-0 victory.

France march into the semifinals

The win against Morocco sent France into the World Cup semifinals for the third consecutive tournament. They will now face either Spain or Belgium for a place in the final.