NEW DELHI: Kylian Mbappe joined: Lionel Messi in an exclusive FIFA World Cup club after producing an outstanding all-round display in France’s 2-0 win over Morocco in the quarterfinals last Thursday. The France forward missed a first-half penalty but recovered with a goal and an assist as Les Bleus booked their place in the FIFA World Cup semifinals, where they will face either Spain or Belgium.With his performance, Mbappe achieved a feat that has only been seen four times in the last 60 years.There have only been four times in the last 60 years that a player has scored, assisted and missed a penalty in a World Cup match. Two of these came in the last three days – Lionel Messi against Egypt and Kylian Mbappe against Morocco.The remarkable achievement was first achieved by Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan against the Czech Republic in the 2006 World Cup. Karim Benzema became the second player to do so during France’s 5-2 win over Switzerland in the 2014 edition.
Mbappe recovered from the penalty miss
Mbappe looked to give France an early lead after Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui brought him down inside the penalty area in the 25th minute.However, after a lengthy VAR review, the French star saw his penalty saved by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who guessed in the right direction. The miss did little to slow him down.Mbappe converted in the 60th minute, firing his eighth goal of the 2026 World Cup and the 20th World Cup goal of his career. Just six minutes later, he set up Ousmane Dembele, whose finish doubled France’s lead.
More records for Mbappe:
Mbappe’s latest performance continued his outstanding record at the World Cup.It was the third time he scored and assisted in the same game at the World Cup. Only Lionel Messi, with five such games, has managed it more often in the last 60 years.The 27-year-old also became the first player since 1966 to register 10 or more goal contributions in two separate World Cups. He had 10 contributions to the goal in 2022 and now has 11 in the 2026 edition.His 20th World Cup goal also moved him within a strike of Messi’s tally of 21.The victory sends Les Bleus to the semifinals of the World Cup for the third tournament in a row (2018, 2022 and 2026). They became only the third country to achieve that feat after Germany and Brazil.It was also France’s eighth World Cup semifinal appearance, tying Brazil for the second-most in the tournament’s history. Only Germany, with 12 semifinal appearances, has reached the last four more often.France will now look to continue their title defense when they meet either Spain or Belgium for a place in the World Cup final.