Mbappé Never Doubted Himself After Penalty Miss Against Morocco, Says Didier Deschamps

France manager Didier Deschamps has hailed Kylian Mbappé’s confidence after the forward inspired Les Bleus to a 2-0 win over Morocco and fired them into the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Mbappé bounced back from a first-half penalty miss to break the deadlock in the 60th minute before setting up Ousmane Dembélé for France’s second goal. The Real Madrid star was substituted with 13 minutes left after experiencing slight ankle discomfort, but there are no major concerns over his availability for the semi-final.

Deschamps said he never questioned Mbappé’s ability to respond despite the missed spot-kick and several wasted opportunities before the breakthrough.

“When it’s Kylian, there’s no problem, he never doubts himself, even though he had another chance before scoring,” Deschamps said.

“I think that is three consecutive semi-finals, so that’s already a good thing.

“It seems logical and natural, but you still have to achieve it.

“Obviously, I have great players, otherwise, we wouldn’t get there, but it’s good. It was complicated because today, after missing the penalty, and with the chances (we had), we didn’t convert.

“It’s great; we’re where we wanted to be, so we’ll recover well and then we’ll see who our opponent is tomorrow.”

The goal also saw Mbappé make more World Cup history. He has now scored eight goals in six matches at the 2026 tournament, equalling the tally he managed at the 2022 World Cup. That achievement makes him the first player to score at least eight goals in two different editions of the competition.

The France captain has also taken his overall World Cup tally to 20 goals. Only Lionel Messi, with 21, has scored more in the tournament’s history. Mbappé had previously scored four times during France’s triumphant 2018 World Cup campaign.