French soccer star Kylian Mbappe ran to the stands to apologize after hitting a fan with a shot during warmups for the World Cup semifinal Wednesday. If the fan ever recovered, he would have seen the PSG star make up for it with a 2-0 victory over Morocco to propel France to a finals matchup with Argentina.
In a clip that has now gone viral, Mbappe leapt over a barrier to attend to the unidentified fan, who was wearing red and blue and appeared disoriented in photos after the shot reportedly hit him in the face. France’s star apologized and ensured that he was alright before completing warmups.
In the match itself, Mbappe did not score or directly assist, but his play undeniably made a difference as he pushed a torrent pace on offense throughout the game and simply overwhelmed Moroccan defenders. At 23, he will now appear in the second World Cup final of his career, having been a member of the French team that won the tournament in 2018.
Mbappe’s apology to the fan and subsequent play on the field were not his sole acts of class on the day of his semifinal match. After the game, Mbappe spoke to Moroccan player and fellow PSG player Achraf Hakimi, and the two embraced. On Twitter, Mbappe said that Hakimi should not be upset after the team “made history.”
Arguably the best player in the tournament with five goals in six games, Mbappe has led France to the cusp of a historic achievement. Since the World Cup began in 1930, only two teams have won back-to-back tournaments: Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
While Lionel Messi and Argentina are sure to provide a stout challenge to France on Sunday, the team led by Mbappe has been virtually unchallenged at the World Cup thus far, winning five of six games by a combined 13-5 score. Argentina’s path included a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in the group stage and a win on penalties against Netherlands in the quarterfinal, but the team proved itself to be a championship contender in a resounding 3-0 win over Croatia in the semifinal.
