France comfortably defeated Morocco 2-0 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal clash to continue their brilliant run in the competition. However, a major talking point after the match was the lengthy VAR review that delayed Kylian Mbappe‘s first-half penalty by more than three minutes. Mbappe ended up missing the penalty and it prompted a reaction from Norway striker Erling Haaland. Haaland took to social media to share an image of the incident along with the text – “Need to wait 5 min to take a penalty is way too long”. While the time was a bit exaggerated, Haaland was not pleased with the incident.
The incident took place during the first half of the quarterfinal clash when France were awarded a penalty following a tackle from Morocco defener Noussair Mazraoui on Mbappe. The French superstar stepped up to take the spot kick but the VAR lasted 3 minutes and 10 seconds. During the delay, Mbappe was seen having an animated chat with the on-field referee.
Mbappe ended up missing the penalty as Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou pulled off a brilliant save. Mbappe was visibly irritated following his penalty loss and the delay has sparked a chatter among the fans as well as the experts.
Mbappe urged France to stay focused after reaching the World Cup semi-finals, insisting there is no room for complacency as the challenges ahead will be even tougher.
The France captain also allayed concerns over his fitness, describing the ankle issue that forced him off as minor and saying he was fine, adding that the substitution was a tactical decision to allow Jean–Philippe Mateta to see out the closing stages.
Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele scored in the second half to send France into the final four of the ongoing World Cup. With this, France reaches its 3rd consecutive World Cup semifinal.
Mbappe also won the player of the match award, winning it for the third time in this World Cup edition.
“There can be no let-up. There is still a long way to go, and what lies ahead will be even tougher,” Mbappe said after the match, as per Reuters.
“It’s a minor ankle injury, but I’m fine. In that moment, I think Mateta was better suited to continue for the remaining minutes of the match. But I’m fine, don’t worry,” he added.
(With ANI inputs)