The Gillette Stadium in Boston witnessed a pivotal moment in the 27th minute when Kylian Mbappé, France’s captain and tournament top scorer, saw his penalty repelled by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. After a foul by Noussair Mazraoui on Mbappé was confirmed by VAR, the French forward struck low to his right, but Bounou read the direction and smothered the ball, preserving a 0-0 scoreline that held until the interval.

The miss punctuated a half of French ascendancy in which Bounou was repeatedly called into action. As early as the fourth minute, he tipped a Mbappé drive around the post, then clawed away a Dayot Upamecano header from the resulting corner. Later, a close-range effort from Désiré Doué was parried, and in stoppage time Lucas Digne rattled the woodwork with a long-range strike. Morocco, by contrast, failed to register a single shot on target, struggling to escape their own half for long stretches.

The confrontation was a rematch of the 2022 semi-final, which France won 2-0, and carried high stakes for both sides. Mbappé entered the match with seven goals in the tournament and 19 in World Cup play, one shy of Lionel Messi’s tally. Bounou, a 35-year-old who plays his club football in Saudi Arabia, had already saved a penalty against the Netherlands earlier in the competition and famously denied two Spanish spot-kicks in Qatar. Moroccan outlets highlighted his 17 career penalty saves, while French analysts noted that the miss squandered a period of clear superiority for Didier Deschamps’ side, who had been warned by their coach that Morocco ‘are not here by chance’ after their African Cup of Nations triumph and a group-stage draw with Brazil.

The penalty award itself was overseen by Argentine referee Facundo Tello, whose appointment had drawn a pointed remark from Deschamps before the match: ‘I hope the referee is as good as Mr Letexier and his assistants in another game.’ Tello’s decision to point to the spot was clear, but a lengthy VAR check delayed the kick until the 28th minute, visibly irritating Mbappé, who remonstrated with the official after a hydration break. Across South America, where many fans harbour little affection for the French forward, the miss was greeted with glee on social media, with clips of the save circulating widely alongside memes of celebration.

The stalemate left the quarter-final finely poised for the second half, with the victor set to meet either Spain or Belgium in the last four. France, for all their pressure, had failed to convert, while Morocco, having weathered the storm, could draw confidence from their goalkeeper’s heroics and their own capacity to grow into the contest, as they did in the closing minutes of the half.