Mbappe is a competitive beast that simply refuses to be contained, and at this point the World Cup is fast becoming entirely synonymous with the French superstar.

Portugal appointed Jorge Jesus as their new national team coach on Friday and he said he would continue to call on veteran superstar Cristiano Ronaldo if he is available, insisting the forward will "never" be a problem.

Waving flags, singing patriotic songs and carrying banners proclaiming "Egypt's men made us proud", thousands of supporters welcomed Egypt's national football team home on Friday after the Pharaohs produced the finest World Cup campaign in the country's history.

Coach Rudi Garcia said "everyone" expects his Belgium team to be eliminated by Spain in Friday's World Cup quarter-final, but backed his side to pull off a famous victory.

The Spanish wunderkid believes his best performances come when the stakes are highest.

When Thibaut Courtois steps onto the pitch against Spain in Los Angeles on Saturday, it will be more than a World Cup quarterfinal.

During the build-up to the 2026 World Cup, this was expected to be the tournament where teenage sensation Lamine Yamal would dazzle on the biggest stage, carrying on the breathtaking form he has shown for Barcelona in recent years.

Mbappe became the youngest player to reach 20 World Cup appearances at the age of 27 and also equalled Hugo Lloris' French record for matches played at the tournament.

France produced a performance that stripped away the romance and reminded everyone why they remain one of international football's gold standards.

What do you need to turn fortunes around in a tournament?

France never doubted they would go through despite Kylian Mbappe missing a penalty and having wasted several chances in the first half in their World Cup quarter-final clash against Morocco, coach Didier Deschamps said on Thursday.

FIFA's handling of two World Cup red-card cases came under renewed scrutiny on Thursday after England defender Jarell Quansah got a two-match suspension while U.S. striker Folarin Balogun avoided an immediate ban for a similar challenge.

A disappointed Morocco said they had hoped to progress past the World Cup quarterfinals, but had to accept they lost to a better team as France eliminated them 2-0 in Thursday's tie.

Kylian Mbappe recovered from having a first-half penalty saved to score a magnificent opener that set France on their way to a 2-0 win over Morocco in their World Cup quarterfinal showdown today.

The 25-year-old is carrying the hopes of a nation but the young striker appears to be enjoying every second of it, with the scale of the obsession being difficult to miss.

The winners of the tie will face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals.

From staying awake through the night in Dhaka to standing on the touchline with a camera in hand, a Bangladeshi photographer reflects on covering football's greatest stage.

The registration window will remain open for more than nine weeks, until September 3.

The former England star had cheekily said in an interview that he would row in Merseyside if Norway made the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Despite facing tougher tests than expected while navigating a rather easier route compared to others during their World Cup campaign, including a hard-fought qualification against Egypt, Argentina have retained one of the defining traits of Lionel Scaloni's tenure -- control through possession.