Kylian Mbappé fumes after lengthy VAR review before first World Cup penalty miss

Kylian Mbappé’s first missed World Cup penalty added another talking point to the tournament’s ongoing debate over VAR.

The France star saw goalkeeper Yassine Bounou save his 28th-minute penalty after a VAR review lasted more than three minutes to confirm Noussair Mazraoui’s foul. The lengthy delay forced Mbappé to restart his routine several times before his attempt was denied.

Mbappé recovered in style, though, scoring a sensational second-half goal before setting up Ousmane Dembélé as France secured a 2-0 victory over Morocco.

After the save by Bounou, Mbappé took his grievance to Argentine referee Facundo Tello, who did not seem to be interested in a conversation.

The save ended Mbappé's streak of 15 straight successful penalty attempts. He last missed for France during a Round of 16 loss at Euro 2020 to Switzerland.

For Bounou, that was his fourth penalty save in a World Cup, including shootouts. Opponents have only scored twice on the nine attempts that he's faced with three going off target, per Squawka.

Had Mbappé successfully converted his attempt, he would have tied Argentina's Lionel Messi for the lead in the Golden Boot race with eight goals.

He did not need long to get there anyway.

In the 60th minute, Mbappé collected a pass from Doué just inside the box, kept hunting for space and bent a gorgeous shot into the far corner for his eighth goal of the tournament.

Six minutes later, his brilliant run pulled Morocco defenders away and opened space for Dembélé, who finished from the edge of the box to help send France into the semifinals with a 2-0 win.

France will play the winner of Friday’s Spain vs. Belgium match.