Kylian Mbappe He was forced to wait more than three minutes before taking a penalty kick during the first half of France’s 2026 World Cup quarterfinal match against Morocco at Boston Stadium in Foxborough.Moroccan defender Mazraoui challenged Mbappe in the penalty area and Mbappe won the penalty. This was immediately pointed out by referee Facundo Tello but the kick was delayed while the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) reviewed the incident.
Why was the punishment delayed?
The VAR team checked to see if Mbappe was down before Mazraoui made contact. Although the referee initially awarded a penalty, he awaited confirmation after speaking to VAR official Hernan Mastrangelo.Mbappe was already in position to shoot, but waited 3 minutes and 11 seconds before the review was completed.After the penalty was confirmed, the French captain stepped forward, but his shot from the right was easily saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Deschamps questions lengthy VAR review
France head coach Didier Deschamps admitted the delay had made things more difficult for his star striker.“I believe there was a VAR review and then a second review, which took two minutes. I’m not sure what happened.“It took a while before Kellyanne was ready to shoot. I don’t want to make excuses, but this was not an easy situation.”Despite missing a penalty, Mbappe rebounded in the second half to score France’s first goal and then assisted Ousmane Dembélé for the second as France won 2-0.
France advances to semi-finals
The victory over Morocco sent France into its third consecutive World Cup semi-final. They will now face Spain or Belgium for a place in the final.
