Mbappe scores eight as France beat Morocco to reach World Cup semi-finals

Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of this World Cup to make up for an earlier missed penalty as France proved too good for Morocco and moved into the semi-finals.

Mbappe won the first-half penalty when he was fouled by Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui, but his poorly hit spot-kick was comfortably saved by Yassine Bounou.

The Real Madrid striker made amends in the 60th minute with a superb curling effort from just inside the penalty area to give France a deserved lead, reports the BBC.

Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele doubled France’s advantage six minutes later when he was allowed to run at the Morocco defence, with his low strike finding the net despite Bounou getting a hand to the ball.

Mbappe’s goal moves him level with Argentina’s Lionel Messi at this tournament, although the Frenchman is now top in the race for the Golden Boot as he has registered more assists than his former Paris St-Germain team-mate.

The two are also having a thrilling contest to see who will become the all-time World Cup top scorer, with 27-year-old Mbappe now on 20 goals compared to the record 21 from 39-year-old Messi.

Two-time winners France, who lost to Argentina on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final, will play Spain or Belgium in the semi-final in Dallas on Tuesday.

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