World Cup 2026: Kylian Mbappé's PK attempt saved by Morocco's Yassine Bounou after lengthy VAR review

Kylian Mbappé had a prime opportunity in the 28th minute to put France ahead 1-0 against Morocco in their Round of 16 World Cup matchup on Thursday, but the star forward saw his chance denied by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Mbappé misses a penalty in the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever pic.twitter.com/rtuPICqAJD — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 9, 2026 Mbappé had plenty of time to figure out a way to beat Bounou given that a VAR review took over three minutes to confirm the call. The lengthy time after the whistle following the foul by Noussair Mazraoui caused Mbappé to restart his pre-penalty shot routine several times. After the save by Bouno, Mbappé took his grievance to Argentine referee Facundo Tello, who did not seem to be interested in a conversation. Mbappé's reaction after missing a penalty following a lengthy VAR review 👀 pic.twitter.com/0SYTKbp8bh — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 9, 2026 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. The save also 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 all-time, including shootouts. Opponents have only scored twice on the nine attempts that he's faced with three going off target, per Squawka . The teams went into halftime with score locked at 0-0 .