FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- France coach Didier Deschamps has questioned why Kylian Mbappé was made to wait to take his penalty against Morocco and said the delay contributed to the striker's miss.
Mbappé saw his first-half spot kick saved by Yassine Bounou after being made to wait more than three minutes before being allowed to shoot.
The Real Madrid forward appeared to remonstrate with the Argentinian officials shortly afterwards and during the game Norway striker Erling Haaland posted on social media that the delay was "too long."
"I fully agree with Haaland," said Deschamps. "I believe there was a VAR review and then a second review which took two minutes. I'm not sure what happened.
"It took a while and Kylian was ready to shoot. I don't want to find excuses, but it wasn't an easy situation."
Despite missing the opportunity to put France ahead in the first half, Mbappé made amends after the break with his 20th World Cup goal and his eighth of the tournament.
His wonderfully executed finish from the edge of the box was followed shortly afterwards by a second from Ousmane Dembélé as France won 2-0 to book their place in a third successive World Cup semifinal.
They'll face either Spain or Belgium in the last four in Dallas on July 14.
"I'm extremely proud to be here for a third time in a row," said Deschamps. "We're not in the final yet. We have another game and it will be tough. Anyone in the semifinal is part of the four best teams in the world. The goal is to go to the final but step by step.
"We are on a mission for this shirt and everyone who wants us to win."