Read 3 minutesUpdated: 10 July 2026 02:40 AM IST
Kylian Mbappe He missed the chance to overtake Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot when he missed a penalty against Morocco in the first quarter-final on Thursday. France were awarded a penalty in the 28th minute which Mbappe converted. Morocco goalkeeper Yassin Bouno’s well-timed shot, however, went relatively wide to keep it 0-0.
The goalkeeper was kept busy at half-time as he saved a powerful low drive from Mbappé as well as shots from Diot Upmecano and Lucas Digne as the sides went into half-time level at 0-0. If Mbappe had scored from the spot, he would have surpassed Argentina legend Messi, who has 8 goals, who also coincidentally missed two penalties in this World Cup. Mbappe will also be on 8 strikes but will top the charts thanks to his 2 assists against Messi’s 1.
The Atlas Lions became the first African team to reach the milestone in 2022 when France defeated Morocco in the semi-finals of the tournament in Qatar. France is on course to become only the third country to appear in three consecutive World Cup finals.
Morocco are looking to pull off an upset over favorites Les Bleus on Thursday, with the team having plenty of ties to the opposition. Six Moroccan players – Ayoub Bouaddi (Senlis), Issa Diop (Toulouse), Neil El Ainoui (Nancy), Redoune Halhal (Montpellier), Samir El Morabet (Strasbourg) and Gessim Yassin (Salon-de-Provence) – were born on French soil.
In addition, 19 of the 26 players in Morocco’s squad for the World Cup were born outside the country.
Morocco coach Mohamed Ohbi said it has helped broaden the country’s World Cup support.
The links also extend to the club game as France captain Kylian Mbappé and midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni both play for Real Madrid alongside Moroccan midfielder Brahim Diaz.
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Diaz, who has been instrumental in getting Morocco this far with a team-high four assists, said adding more dimension to the matchup carries more weight.