France-Morocco live: Mbappé guides Les Bleus to semi-finals

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Thank you for following our liveblog. Join us again Friday at 7pm GMT as we find out who France will face in the semi-finals after Spain take on Belgium in the final quarter-final match. See you then!

Mbappé on France’s ambitions

“We’re aware of this team’s potential. On the pitch, we still have a lot more to demonstrate.”

Didier Deschamps: “We’re where we wanted to be”

“I think it’s three consecutive semi-finals, so that’s good already. It seems logical and natural but you have to get there. Obviously I have amazing players, otherwise we wouldn’t be here, but it’s good. It was complicated today because we missed the penalty and didn’t take our chances. When it’s Kylian, no problem – he never doubts himself, even though he had another opportunity before he scored. It’s great, we’re where we wanted to be so we’ll recover well and then we’ll discover our opponent tomorrow”.

‘On est en demies!’ (‘We are in semi-finals’)

‘Maghrib all the way, we will see you in 2030 in Morocco’ for the next WC

Zaïre-Emery’s slip of the tongue

Warren Zaïre-Emery, who made his tournament debut in this quarter-final, inadvertently mixed up his competitions during his post-match interview: “The objective is very clear: to go to the Champions League final… I mean, the World Cup final.”

A telling slip of the tongue, particularly amusing given that the PSG midfielder won the Champions League with the Parisians before the summer

Boston supporters proud of their Bleus

Dembélé: ‘We were rewarded’ for our work

“We’re very happy. We were focused, and we were rewarded for that”, says French forward Dembélé

“Kylian [Mbappé] told me to stay central, he made a run to free up space for me, and I was able to place my shot well”, he added, describing his goal.

Mbappé on his injury: ‘I am already feeling better’

“It’s fine, I took a knock on my ankle, but I’m okay. I thought at that moment, JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) was more suited than me to play the last fifteen minutes, so I came off and he came on. He came on well, he can score too, so it’s very positive.

“I don’t know if it’s a mission, I think that’s the easiest term. I think we’re aware there’s only one way to relax, and that’s to win (…) We’re in the semi-final, we’re very happy. There’s still a long way to go, and we’re aware that what awaits us is even harder than what we’ve been through, but we’re ready. We’re ready to face anything, and we’ll recover calmly and watch tomorrow’s match to see who we’ll be playing in the semi-final.”

Scenes of joy from Paris

And that’s a wrap!

France fans erupt in Paris streets

Here’s our recap:

Mateta squanders a header!

Dembélé’s inswinging corner reaches Mateta at the back post with the goal gaping, but Mateta inexplicably heads the ball well over the crossbar!

El Aynaoui’s header goes close!

Achraf Hakimi sends over an inswinging corner and Neil El Aynaoui meets the ball with his head, but his effort drifts just wide of the left post!

Rabiot’s reckless challenge

Rabiot commits an unnecessary foul trying to win the ball and Facundo Tello rightfully penalises him.

Morocco are awarded a free kick as France’s defender’s indiscipline gives the Atlas Lions a set-piece opportunity to work with.

Barcola’s pass cleared for a corner

Barcola sends a sweet pass into the penalty area looking to create danger, but a Morocco defender is alert and averts the threat by clearing the ball

France is pushing hard for a third goal