KYLIAN SOFTLY …
Marchons, marchons. Fans of France’s remaining rivals at the Geopolitics World Cup – and lovers of business-end big tournament jeopardy – were left sorely disappointed as the favourites steamrolled Morocco. Didier Deschamps’ cohort of strutting roosters had their feathers ruffled by Paraguay’s spectacular heel turn in the last 16, but were largely back in cruise control for their 2-0 quarter-final victory in (a venue near) Boston on Thursday.
- Kylian Mbappé rebounded from a missed penalty to curl home a spectacular goal, reaffirming his dominance and deadly finishing.
- Atlas Lions were undone when Yassine Bounou misplayed Ousmane Dembélé's shot; Morocco scarcely threatened, finishing with almost no xG.
- France march on to face Spain or Belgium, with Kylian Mbappé chasing a GWC, Golden Boot, and all-time scoring treble.
Truly, this was no close shave at [Gillette] Stadium, despite Kylian Mbappé’s first-half penalty being saved. He won the spot-kick himself, nicking the ball past Noussair Mazraoui and embracing the inevitable contact – not so much having the hasty full-back’s number as presenting him with an itemised data dump. Mbappé couldn’t cash in, though, his tame effort collected by Morocco keeper Yassine ‘Bono’ Bounou. The France captain may have been distracted by: a) an insane amount of faffing from the referee; b) Bono whirring his arms and legs at high speed; and/or c) organising the team’s travel itinerary for the semi-final.
Mbappé’s moment of unexpected weakness livened up an otherwise attritional first half, but he made up for it in style on the hour mark, curling home in clinical fashion for his eighth GWC goal. It was a spectacular finish, met with a collective Gallic shrug from armchair fans as France continue to make the audacious look routine. Six minutes later, the jig was up for Morocco when Bono allowed Ousmane Dembélé’s shot to slip through his fingers. One of this tournament’s very best sides, the Atlas Lions were finished, with or without that error – they ended the game with one shot on target and an xG dangerously close to zero.
“Many people say Kylian is a dictator, that he only thinks of himself,” Deschamps said afterwards, demonstrating an impressive awareness of various Social Media Disgraces for a 57-year-old. “He’s the captain and he’s exemplary.” Even the sight of Mbappé resting an ice pack on his ankle proved a false alarm for rival fans. He is expected to be fit for Tuesday’s semi-final in (a stadium somewhat close to) Dallas. France will face either Spain – yet to concede a goal in five matches – or an undead Belgium side who we could have sworn were knocked out ages ago. Still, if anyone can kill them off for good, Kylian can. He’s on a one-man mission to claim a GWC/Golden Boot/all-time top-scorer treble and ruin Lionel Messi’s retirement. It’s Mbappé’s World Cup – we’re just watching it.
