Mbappe Passes Messi for Golden Boot Lead as France Dominates Morocco 2-0 to Reach World Cup Semifinals

Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of the tournament and Ousmane Dembele added a dagger six minutes later as France dispatched Morocco 2-0 in Thursday’s World Cup quarterfinal in Foxborough, Massachusetts, punching a third straight ticket to the semifinals. The win also vaulted Mbappe past Lionel Messi atop the Golden Boot race, even as the French captain limped off late with an ankle issue that briefly overshadowed the celebration.

France remains the tournament’s only unbeaten side that hasn’t needed extra time, running its record to 6-0 with a performance that looked every bit like a team building toward back-to-back titles. Les Bleus reached the World Cup final in 2018 and 2022, and Thursday’s dominant showing against a Morocco squad that had reached the quarterfinals in consecutive tournaments did little to slow the growing sense that this French core is built for another deep run.

Mbappe Breaks Through After Missed Penalty

The breakthrough didn’t come easy. Morocco keeper Yassine Bounou was outstanding for most of the night, piling up saves and forcing a lengthy VAR review before Mbappe stepped up to a first-half penalty kick. Mbappe missed it — a rare occurrence for the French captain in a World Cup setting — but he atoned in the 60th minute, seizing on a turnover in France’s attacking third and powering a shot past Bounou for his eighth goal of the tournament. That goal pulled him level with Messi at the top of the Golden Boot standings, and Mbappe’s edge in assists (three to Messi’s one) currently gives him the tiebreaker advantage heading into the final rounds.

Dembele doubled the lead just six minutes later, redirecting a shot that clipped off Bounou’s outstretched hand and trickled into the net. It was the kind of finish that summed up Morocco’s night — dangerous in spurts, unable to find the break they needed. Achraf Hakimi tested Mike Maignan on a direct free kick, and Neil El Aynaoui had a header sail just wide off a corner, but Morocco’s title as the first African nation to reach multiple World Cup quarterfinals ended in Foxborough.

Mbappe’s Ankle and What Comes Next

The moment that generated the most buzz afterward wasn’t a goal — it was Mbappe going down again in the second half, initially waving off teammates before eventually getting to his feet and being subbed off in the 77th minute alongside Desire Doue. He was later spotted on the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle, though the severity remained unclear. Whatever the diagnosis, Mbappe looked well enough afterward to celebrate with his teammates, a positive sign for a France side that will need him at full strength in the semifinal.

Norwegian star Erling Haaland, who watched the match ahead of his own quarterfinal against England on Saturday, weighed in on the VAR delay that preceded Mbappe’s missed penalty, calling the wait “way too long” in a social media post. It was a fitting footnote to a night that featured plenty of stoppages but ultimately came down to two moments of individual quality from France’s attack.

France will face the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between Belgium and Spain in the semifinals, with a third consecutive trip to the final now firmly in sight. For bettors who have been riding France throughout the tournament, sportsbooks continue to list Les Bleus among the favorites to lift the trophy, and the DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code both remain live for anyone looking to get in on the semifinal odds. The BetMGM promo code is another option for World Cup markets heading into the weekend slate.

The Golden Boot race adds another layer of intrigue with Messi and Argentina set to face Switzerland on Saturday, giving the Argentine captain a chance to reclaim the scoring lead before the semifinals kick off. Prediction market bettors tracking the tournament’s individual awards have leaned on platforms like Kalshi to trade on the outcome, and the Kalshi promo code remains available for those markets. Anyone mapping out value across the semifinal round can also lean on tools like the odds and probability calculator to compare lines before placing a bet.

With four teams now alive in the bracket, the sport’s biggest stage is set for a stretch run that will decide who joins France in the final. For now, though, Thursday belonged to Mbappe and Dembele, and to a French team that continues to look like the standard the rest of the field is chasing.