Mbappé and Dembélé Fire France Into World Cup Semifinals
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- Kylian Mbappé produced a goal described as a potential goal of the tournament — a brilliant dipping strike — and added an assist for Dembélé, making amends for a "dreadful penalty miss" and being the constant source of attacking threat throughout
- Ousmane Dembélé had been "largely invisible" for much of the match before appearing "from nowhere" to power home France's second and effectively kill off any Moroccan comeback
- Didier Deschamps equalled the record for most appearances by any manager at a World Cup with 25 matches, calmly allowing his starting XI to find a breakthrough before making changes
- Désiré Doué delivered arguably France's best individual display, linking fluently with Lucas Digne down the left, forcing saves from Bounou, and providing the flick that teed up Mbappé's opener
- Mbappé was forced off with what the source describes as an "apparent injury," a concern for France with the semifinal looming
- France's defense was barely tested as Morocco offered almost no attacking threat, leaving goalkeeper Mike Maignan a spectator for most of the night
Why it matters: France sent a statement that they are justified favorites to reclaim the trophy, dispatching a dangerous Morocco side with room to spare. The dominant framing is the cruise-job performance, but the one detail that could reshape the semifinal is Mbappé's apparent injury — France can ill afford to lose their captain and talisman at this stage of the tournament.
