Didier Deschamps, the head coach of the French national team, defended his star Kylian Mbappé, stressing that he is an ideal captain whose influence goes beyond just scoring goals, and at the same time denied rumors describing him as a dictator or selfish.

Deschamps said in the press conference following the 2-0 victory over Morocco and qualification to the World Cup semifinals: 'Many believe that Kylian is a kind of dictator who only thinks about himself, but he is an ideal person as a captain, and he proves that with what he brings on the field, aside from all the goals he scores.'

Deschamps also touched on the long stoppage before the penalty that goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved from Kylian Mbappé, stressing that he still does not understand exactly what happened in that play.

The French head coach explained: 'I had the impression that there was a VAR review confirmed by the referee, then another call came to check for an error, as they spent nearly two minutes reviewing the footage. But in any case, there was doubt at that moment, and the truth is that it took a very long time and Kylian was already ready to shoot. I will not look for an excuse for Kylian, but obviously it was not an easy situation at all.'

Deschamps praised the mental strength of his players and their strong reaction after the end of the first half, which saw many missed clear scoring chances.

Deschamps continued: 'In the first half, with the missed penalty and the three chances, we lacked attacking efficiency, but that does not plant doubt in the minds of our players, and not at all in Kylian Mbappé's mind. Additionally, the opponent also had to run a lot, and with increased fatigue, bigger spaces appeared, and that is what happened. Moreover, we conceded very few chances indeed.'

France managed to break Morocco's resistance in the second half thanks to a goal from Kylian Mbappé and another from Ousmane Dembélé, leading Les Bleus to the World Cup semifinals for the third consecutive time.

The Real Madrid striker scored his eighth World Cup goal, tying with Argentine star Lionel Messi at the top of the tournament's scoring charts for the Golden Boot award.

France will face on July 14 in Dallas the winner of the match between Spain and Belgium, which takes place today, Friday, in Los Angeles.