France forward Kylian Mbappe squandered a golden opportunity to hand his side an early lead after missing a penalty against Morocco in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final on Thursday.
France were awarded the spot-kick after Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui was adjudged to have fouled Mbappe inside the penalty area. The forward stepped up confidently, but his effort lacked power and was comfortably saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who guessed correctly and dived to his left.
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The save kept Morocco level in a high-stakes knockout encounter and quickly became one of the defining moments of the match, with clips of the miss circulating widely across social media.
Why is Mbappe’s penalty miss significant?
Mbappe entered the quarter-final as one of the tournament’s top scorers with seven goals. Had he converted the penalty, he would have moved to eight goals in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and reached 20 career World Cup goals.
The miss also placed the France captain on an unwanted list. According to tournament records, Mbappe became the fifth player to miss a penalty during normal play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, joining Lionel Messi, Jørgen Strand Larsen and Bruno Guimarães among players who failed to convert from the spot.
Mbappe scripts another World Cup milestone
Though he failed to score from the penalty, it is worth mentioning that Mbappe accomplished his biggest individual goal since he scored his 20th match in FIFA World Cup.
11 – 🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé has been involved in 11 goals at the 2026 World Cup (8 goals, 3 assists).
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 9, 2026
That's the most by a player in a single edition since 🇩🇪 Gerd Müller in 1970 (10 goals, 3 assists).
Productive. pic.twitter.com/sJ6P4jU2dL
The 27-year-old player became the youngest player to break the record of playing 20 matches in FIFA World Cup, breaking the record of Wladislaw Zmuda from Poland. Since 2018, Mbappe has been part of each FIFA World Cup campaign of France.
FAQs
Q1. Whom did Kylian Mbappe fail to beat with his penalty against Morocco?
The goalkeepers of Morocco, Yassine Bounou, saved the first half penalty of Kylian Mbappe.
Q2. What record did Kylian Mbappe achieve despite the miss?
Mbappe became the youngest player to make 20 FIFA World Cup appearances during France’s quarter-final against Morocco.