Mbappe Warns ‘A Long Way to Go’ for France at World Cup After Reaching Semis

United States: France captain Kylian Mbappe said on Thursday that his team was not carried away by the chance of winning another World Cup after beating Morocco 2-0 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals.

“I don’t know if you could say we’re on a mission. It’s an easy term to use. But I think we realize the only way to give up is to win,” Mbappe told French broadcaster M6 after the eventful quarter-final tie in which he saved a penalty in the first half but then opened the scoring.

“We are in the semi-finals and we are very satisfied. We still have a long way to go and we are aware that what awaits us will be even more difficult, but we are ready,” he said.

“We are ready to face whatever we face, so we will recover in peace and watch tomorrow’s match to find out who we will face next.”

Mbappe had a hand in Ousmane Dembele’s goal that gave France the victory at the Gillette Stadium near Boston, but was later substituted after suffering a blow to his ankle and replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta.

“I’m okay. I took a hit on my ankle, but I’m okay. I think at that point JP was more prepared for the last 15 minutes than I was, so I came out of the game.”

France will expect to advance to the semi-finals when they travel to Dallas to play the winner of the quarter-final match between Spain and Belgium on Friday. The last four matches will be played on Tuesday, July 14.

France won its first World Cup in 1998, its second World Cup in 2018, and lost the 2022 final to Argentina on penalties.