Mbappé beats Hakimi as France tops Morocco in World Cup quarterfinal

Kylian Mbappé finally broke Achraf Hakimi’s resistance on Thursday, scoring after a missed first-half penalty to send France past Morocco 2-0 in a World Cup quarterfinal at Boston Stadium. The match kicked off at 16:00 in Boston, 22:00 in Paris and 21:00 in Rabat.

France arrived with a perfect record, having won all five of its matches in the tournament, and Mbappé had already scored seven goals in five games before facing Morocco. That form made him the central threat every time France moved forward, with Hakimi assigned the most punishing job on the field: tracking one of the tournament’s most dangerous attackers for 90 minutes.

The matchup carried the weight of Qatar 2022, when France beat Morocco 2-0 in the semifinal and the personal battle between Hakimi and Mbappé was physical and tense, with respect at the end. Morocco came into the quarterfinal looking for revenge, but the same individual contest again tilted toward Mbappé when it mattered most.

Mbappé’s missed penalty in the first half did not change the balance for long. He recovered, found the goal that put France ahead, and gave Didier Deschamps’ side the control it needed to close out the match. France’s 2-0 win sent it into the semifinals and ended Morocco’s run in a game that had been framed as much by an old rivalry as by the stakes of the bracket.

Mbappé and Hakimi’s relationship extends beyond international duty because the two played together at Paris Saint-Germain, and Mbappé consoled Hakimi when it was over.