Kylian Mbappe recovered from a saved penalty to score a glorious goal and assist Ousmane Dembele as France booked their place in the World Cup semi-finals by beating Morocco 2-0 at Boston Stadium.

Mbappe was felled by Noussair Mazraoui for a first-half spot-kick but, following a long wait, the Real Madrid superstar saw his weak effort kept out by Yassine Bounou.

However, Mbappe was not to be denied after the interval as he picked out the far corner with an inch-perfect curler to go level with Lionel Messi in the 2026 Golden Boot race, while also moving within one of the Argentine's all-time World Cup record of 21 goals. 

And the tie was effectively over when Mbappe turned provider for Dembele shortly afterwards, though the sight of Mbappe applying ice to his ankle after being substituted will be a slight concern ahead of Les Bleus facing Spain or Belgium next week. 

France came roaring out of the blocks as Mbappe saw a 20-yard drive turned behind by Bounou, and after the resulting corner was worked short, the Morocco goalkeeper also had to be on guard to repel Dayot Upamecano's close-range header.

Didier Deschamps' team then had a golden opportunity to go in front when Mazraoui scythed Mbappe down on the left side of the area in the 25th minute.

However, three minutes and 11 seconds passed before the spot-kick was taken, and that delay seemed to affect Mbappe as his tame kick was held by Bounou down to his left.

France remained utterly dominant for the rest of the half but still could not find a way past Bounou, who got down again to thwart Desire Doue before Lucas Digne let fly with a dipping, 35-yard strike that cannoned off the crossbar.

But Morocco's resistance was finally broken on the hour mark as Doue slipped a lovely pass through the legs of Neil El Aynaoui to find Mbappe, who opened up his body and whipped a sensational effort past Bounou from the edge of the box. 

It was 2-0 only six minutes later as Dembele took in a simple lay-off from Mbappe before advancing towards the edge of the area and shooting, with a touch from the outstretched hand of Bounou not enough to prevent it from nestling in the bottom corner.

Mbappe was later replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta after going down with no other players in the vicinity. That appeared to be a precaution as he waved to supporters before taking his place on the bench, and though he was later seen applying an ice pack on the bench, he then seemed to be moving well during France's post-match celebrations.

Morocco finally looked to build some attacking momentum late on, but a comeback never looked likely after an El Aynaoui header flashed wide, with Bradley Barcola almost adding a late third for France.

Mbappe continues Messi duel as France march on

There have only been four occasions in the last 60 years that a player has missed a penalty, scored and assisted in a World Cup game, and two of those have come in the last three days.

On Tuesday, it was Messi in Argentina's comeback win over Egypt, and here, it was Mbappe who took the headlines.

However, France were frustrated for the first hour of the game before Mbappe had his say, in a similar manner to their last-16 win over Paraguay. Les Bleus racked up 1.87 expected goals (xG) in the first half alone – the most by any team when failing to score by the interval at this tournament. 

Bounou's penalty save, meanwhile, was his fourth at World Cups (including shoot-outs) – the most by any goalkeeper on record (since 1966). He has faced nine spot-kicks overall in the competition and only been beaten twice (also three off target).

But there was nothing he could do about Mbappe's superb opener, which ensured the 2026 World Cup is the first edition ever to see two players score eight or more goals, with the Frenchman becoming only the second player in tournament history to reach 20 goals overall, after Argentina icon Messi.

Mbappe is also the first player to ever achieve 10 or more goal involvements at multiple World Cups, with his eight goals and three assists at this edition bettering his return from 2022 (eight goals, two assists).