Who will stop this France side? And how do you stop Kylian Mbappé? Even if you somehow contain him, waiting behind him are Désiré Doué, Michael Olise or Ousmane Dembélé. One player can be stopped, perhaps even two — but this blue storm sweeping in from all four sides?
The night in Boston posed that question all over again.
Mbappé had missed a penalty in the first half, and it seemed luck might not be on his side. But the story of great players is written differently. After the break, from open play, he curled in a superb goal that instantly wiped away the frustration of the miss. Less than six minutes later, another brilliant strike from Ousmane Dembélé outside the box snuffed out Morocco’s last hopes.
Final score: France 2, Morocco 0. France are through to the semifinal, and Morocco’s World Cup dream ended against the very opponent that halted them four years ago. At the Qatar World Cup semifinal the Atlas Lions had lost 2-0 to France; this time the exit came a step earlier, in the quarter-final.
The first half was goalless, but the picture on the pitch was one-sided. In possession, pace and attacking threat, France were on top. Didier Deschamps’s side pinned Morocco’s defence back from the start — a header from Upamecano, long-range efforts from Mbappé — but time and again Yassine Bounou stood firm.
The most talked-about moment came in the 26th minute. As Mbappé burst into the box past Nusair Mazraoui at speed, he was fouled, and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Then came a long wait, with VAR taking roughly three minutes and 12 seconds to confirm the penalty. Standing over the ball that long may have broken Mbappé’s focus; the France captain lost his usual rhythm and his weak effort was saved comfortably by Bounou. Lucas Digne’s follow-up struck the crossbar. The half ended scoreless, but France were still in full control.
Morocco began the second half with more courage, and it looked as though the match might stay evenly poised. But in the 63rd minute Mbappé changed everything. Receiving the ball at the edge of the box, he cut inside a defender and curled a shot into the top corner; Bounou dived but the ball was well beyond his reach.
This is what marks out superstars on the pitch. They did not carry the frustration of the penalty miss for long. With this goal, Mbappé’s tally at this World Cup reached eight, again drawing him level with Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring charts. In an echo of the previous round — when Messi missed a penalty but scored from open play to help his team win — Mbappé did exactly the same here.
Before Morocco could absorb the blow came the second strike. In the 66th minute Ousmane Dembélé advanced down the right and fired a powerful shot from outside the box; the precise effort flew past Bounou’s outstretched hand and into the net.
Two goals in six minutes, and the match was as good as decided. The strike also gave France a rare distinction: for the first time since Brazil’s Ronaldo and Rivaldo at the 2002 World Cup, two players from the same team have scored five or more goals each at a single tournament. Alongside Mbappé’s eight, Dembélé now has five.
Mbappé left the field in the 78th minute with a minor knock, replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta. France kept the game under control; Morocco pushed forward late but the French defence gave them little. As the match wore on it became ever clearer — the night belonged to France.
At the final whistle the same scoreline stood: France 2, Morocco 0. History seemed to mirror itself: the opponent that had ended Morocco’s dream in the semifinal four years ago was again the one to write their exit, this time in the quarter-final. And the World Cup was left with a new question — who will stop this France side?
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report