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Meknes – Kylian Mbappé has blamed his penalty miss against Morocco’s Yassine Bounou on pre-kick distractions during the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals.
While the French forward admitted to poor execution, he said that refereeing and VAR delays completely broke his concentration before taking the spot-kick.
Explaining how the drama unfolded on the pitch, the French forward detailed the initial conversation he had with the referee right before stepping up to the spot.
“I shot the ball, and the goalkeeper saved it; I didn’t execute it well. But things started getting complicated before that, because the referee initially told me there was a penalty. I asked him if he had definitively confirmed the call, and he replied yes.” Mbappé said.
Mbappé went on to explain the exact moments his focus began to slip, pointing to the chaotic instructions coming from the officiating crew.
“Ousmane passed me the ball, and I started preparing to take the shot, but the referee came back to tell me there was no penalty, before reversing his decision once again to confirm it. Then, he asked me to wait to review another incident from two minutes prior. In the end, this scenario affected my concentration, and it was completely unexpected,” he added.
Despite the frustration of the penalty miss against Bounou, the French captain acknowledged the reality of modern technology in the game.
“This is part of modern football with VAR, and we have no choice but to adapt to these situations,” the Real Madrid forward concluded.
Morocco’s historic 2026 World Cup journey ended on Thursday after a 2-0 quarterfinal defeat against France, wrapping up a stellar tournament for the Atlas Lions.
