During France‘s match against Morocco in the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals, France had the opportunity to open the scoring and take the lead in the first half. Still, Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty, joining a list with Karim Benzema.
It is a tremendous statistic: France have only missed two penalties in regular play (outside of shootouts) in the entire history of the World Cup. And within that list, there are only two players: Mbappe and Benzema.
- Benzema — 2014 (against Switzerland)
- Mbappe — 2026 (against Morocco)
Mbappe missed his penalty in the 28th minute, and Bono made a great save, joining an exclusive list. In his time, Karim Benzema missed his penalty and became the first player to waste a penalty in the Brazil 2014 World Cup against Switzerland in the group stage, a match that France still won 5-2, and Benzema still had the opportunity to score.
A penalty that could cost them dearly
The penalty can make a difference in the match, but speaking individually, Mbappe, one of the top scorers of the 2026 World Cup, stalled in the race for the Golden Boot by wasting the penalty in the match against Morocco.
Kylian Mbappe #10 of France during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match
The penalty kick was awarded after Mbappe himself was brought down in the box. Mbappe has seven goals in the North American World Cup, while Argentina’s Lionel Messi leads as top scorer with eight goals. Norway’s Erling Haaland has the same tally as the French attacker.
What is worth emphasizing is that Messi and Haaland will have played one fewer game, as they have their pending quarterfinal matches: Argentina against Switzerland and Norway against England. Harry Kane is not far behind with 6 goals, which is crazy.
Bono’s historic achievement
With the penalty saved against Mbappe, Bono makes history by joining the list of goalkeepers with the highest number of penalties saved in a World Cup, with a total of 4 penalty saves (including shootouts):
- Bono (Morocco) — 4
- Harald Schumacher (Germany) — 4
- Sergio Goycoechea (Argentina) — 4
- Iker Casillas (Spain) — 4
