Deschamps hails Mbappe after he shrugs off penalty miss to send France into third straight World Cup semi-final

LOS ANGELES, July 10 — France coach Didier Deschamps paid tribute to forward Kylian Mbappe after he scored his eighth goal of the World Cup to fire Les Bleus into the semi-finals today with a 2-0 victory over Morocco.

Mbappe opened the scoring on the hour mark at the Gillette Stadium near Boston having earlier had a penalty saved. Ousmane Dembele then completed the job as France reached the last four of a World Cup for the third tournament in a row.

“When it’s Kylian, there’s no problem—he never doubts himself, even though he had another chance before scoring,” Deschamps told French broadcaster M6 after Mbappe netted his 20th World Cup goal in 20 appearances at the tournament.

Mbappe burst onto the global stage by starring in the side that won the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and then top-scored at the 2022 edition in Qatar with eight goals, including a hat-trick in the final—he now has two more games at this World Cup to overtake that tally.

Deschamps confirmed that Mbappe was substituted late in the second half because he had taken a knock to the ankle—the forward was seen applying ice on the sidelines.

“I am obviously really proud to be in a third straight semi-final,” Deschamps added in his post-game press conference.

He said his players “never doubted themselves” despite failing to convert a host of chances in the first half, including the penalty that Mbappe squandered.

“It seems logical and natural, but you still have to achieve it,” Deschamps said of reaching another semi-final.

“Obviously, I have great players, otherwise we wouldn’t get there, but it’s good. It was complicated because today, after missing the penalty, and with the chances (we had), we didn’t convert.”

France will face either Spain or Belgium in Dallas for a place in the World Cup final. That semi-final will take place next Tuesday, July 14 -- France’s national day.

Les Bleus defeated Belgium in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, and lost to eventual champions Spain in the last four at Euro 2024.

“Right now we are only in the semi-finals. We have another step to go and it will obviously be really difficult,” Deschamps said.

“We have taken an important step today and we are now guaranteed to have two more games, but I think you know which ones I want to play.”

The final will take place at the MetLife Stadium just outside New York City on July 19. The beaten semi-finalists, meanwhile, will contest the third-place play-off in Miami the previous day.

“The only date we have in our diaries for now is the 14th, even if the 14th of July is a nice date for France,” added Deschamps. — AFP