Kylian’s Commanding Performance
Marchons, marchons. Fans supporting France’s remaining competitors in the Geopolitics World Cup were left disheartened as the favorites cruised past Morocco. Didier Deschamps’ squad, previously shaken by Paraguay’s unexpected upset in the last 16, regained their composure for a convincing 2-0 victory in a quarter-final match held at a venue near Boston on Thursday.
This encounter at Gillette Stadium was anything but a nail-biter, despite Kylian Mbappé’s first-half penalty being thwarted. He was the architect of the penalty, deftly maneuvering past Noussair Mazraoui and inviting the inevitable contact—a clear indication of his skill. However, Mbappé’s attempt was thwarted by Morocco’s goalkeeper, Yassine ‘Bono’ Bounou. The France captain may have been momentarily distracted by: a) extensive delays from the referee; b) Bono’s animated antics; or c) coordinating travel plans for the impending semi-final.
Mbappé’s brief setback added excitement to an otherwise dull first half, but he redeemed himself spectacularly just after the hour mark, expertly curling in a shot for his eighth goal of the tournament. The finish was a thing of beauty, met with a collective shrug from fans as France continued to turn the extraordinary into routine. Just six minutes later, Morocco’s hopes dimmed when Bono fumbled a shot from Ousmane Dembélé. The Atlas Lions, touted as one of the tournament’s strongest teams, were left with a solitary shot on target and an expected goals (xG) figure perilously close to zero.
“Many people say Kylian is a dictator, that he only thinks of himself,” Deschamps remarked post-match, showcasing his grasp of various social media narratives for someone of his age. “He’s the captain and he’s exemplary.” Even the sight of Mbappé with an ice pack on his ankle proved to be a false alarm for concerned fans. He is anticipated to be fit for the semi-final on Tuesday in a stadium not far from Dallas. France will face either Spain, who have yet to concede a goal in five matches, or a struggling Belgium side that seemed to have been eliminated long ago. If anyone can finish them off, it’s Kylian. He is on a singular quest to achieve a GWC/Golden Boot/all-time top-scorer trifecta and overshadow Lionel Messi’s farewell. This World Cup is Mbappé’s stage, and we are merely spectators.
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Coverage on Big Website
Join Billy Munday at 8pm BST/3pm EDT/5am AEST for live updates on the quarter-final clash between Spain and Belgium, currently tied at 0-0 (after extra time; 1-0 on penalties).
Quote of the Day
“I remember the first day I finished working with them. They were about to go for their match and I was on a flight to LA. I prayed for them and went to sleep. When I woke up, and it was time to get off the flight, my phone was buzzing. [Marcus] Rashford had scored and, wow, I was happy for them. He told me he loved his hair and lots of attention was paid to his look after the goal. But I didn’t know how big the [Geopolitics] World Cup was then. I know we love football in the UK but I didn’t know to this extent – like all the love I’m getting, with people saying: ‘Thank you for looking after our boys.’ I’m like: ‘Wow! Give me another medal!”
– Donald McRae meets Jayèma, the east London hair stylist who has taken over the GWC.
Football Daily Letters
‘Every now and then, I fall apart’ – James Vortkamp-Tong.
“Please don’t refer to the USA USA USA as ‘Trump’s boys’ (yesterday’s Football Daily). From what I understand, they are sane, good sportsmen, well-liked, and a team to be proud of, quite unlike the person in question” – James Driskell.
“A fellow reader of the France v Morocco MBM commented on how inevitable France look at the moment. This made me wonder, could this team go down in history as Les Inévitables?” – Peter Oh.
“That was a rather touching last line reference to Bonnie Tyler (yesterday’s Football Daily, full email edition). One would like to read a story about the England team – average year of birth around 1998 – playing her classic tune in the locker room and singing along. Until they got to the hooky lyric, ‘Every now and then, I fall apart’. Good luck on Saturday, lads!” – Mike Wilner.
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