Kylian Mbappe bounced back from his first-half penalty miss in emphatic fashion, scoring once and setting up another as France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals on Thursday. The France captain, who had earlier seen a penalty saved by Yassine Bounou, produced a stunning 60th-minute strike before laying on Ousmane Dembele's goal six minutes later.
The breakthrough came after a tense, goalless first half in Boston. Mbappe curled an unstoppable effort into the top corner to finally breach Morocco's resilient defence, before turning provider as Dembele finished clinically to secure France's place in the last four as the tournament's first semi-finalists.
Mbappe's strike against Morocco was his eighth of the tournament. He opened his campaign with braces against Senegal and Iraq in the group stage before adding another double against Sweden in the Round of 32. The 27-year-old then scored the winner from the penalty spot against Paraguay in the Round of 16 before adding another in the quarter-finals against Morocco.
Having also registered three assists, Mbappe moves ahead of Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race on assists, the tournament's first tiebreaker.
ALSO READ | Kylian Mbappe Misses Penalty As Yassine Bounou Equals World Cup Record In France vs Morocco Quarter-Final
Messi, who has eight goals and one assist, will have the chance to reclaim top spot when Argentina face Switzerland in their quarter-final. Norway striker Erling Haaland remains firmly in contention with seven goals ahead of his side's clash against England, while Harry Kane has six goals before the same fixture. Dembele, now on five goals after scoring against Morocco, has also emerged as an outside contender as France continue their title charge.
Beyond the Golden Boot race, Mbappe continued to rewrite the World Cup record books. His strike against Morocco was his 20th career World Cup goal, achieved in just 20 tournament appearances across the 2018, 2022 and 2026 editions, leaving him just one behind Lionel Messi's all-time record of 21. The goal also made him the outright holder of the record for the most goals scored in the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup with 12.
By scoring once and assisting another, Mbappe also reached 11 goal involvements at the 2026 World Cup (eight goals, three assists), surpassing the 10 goal involvements (eight goals, two assists) he registered at the 2022 edition. He is the first player since records began in 1966 to register at least 10 goal involvements in two different FIFA World Cups.
The performance also saw the France captain become the first player to be directly involved in 101 goals for the national team, with 64 goals and 37 assists.
Here's a look at the leading goalscorers in the race for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot after France's quarter-final victory over Morocco:
| Rank | Player | Country | Position | Goals | Assists |
| 1 | Kylian Mbappe | France | FW | 8 | 3 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | FW | 8 | 1 |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | Norway | FW | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | Harry Kane | England | FW | 6 | 1 |
| 5 | Ousmane Dembele | France | FW | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | Ismaila Sarr | Senegal | FW | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain | FW | 4 | 1 |
| 8 | Julian Quinones | Mexico | FW | 4 | 1 |
| 9 | Jude Bellingham | England | MF | 4 | 1 |
| 10 | Vinicius Junior | Brazil | FW | 4 | 1 |
ALSO READ | France vs Morocco Highlights: Mbappe, Dembele Fire Les Bleus Into World Cup 2026 Semi-Finals
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