Norway striker Erling Haaland had a cheeky take on the long VAR check before Kylian Mbappé’s penalty in France’s 2-0 World Cup quarter-final win over Morocco.
France got a spot kick in the first half after Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui was ruled to have made a reckless challenge. Argentine referee Facundo Tello pointed to the spot, but play stopped for what the report calls more than four minutes while the VAR reviewed the play. The world football governing body also faced scrutiny for appointing an all-Argentine officiating team for the clash.
After the delay the penalty stood, and Morocco keeper Yassine Bounou brilliantly saved the low effort from the Real Madrid star. Watching from home, Haaland was unimpressed. According to SPORTbible, the Manchester City striker posted on Snapchat — then deleted it — writing: “Need to wait 5 min to take a penalty is way too long.” In fact, Mbappé waited around three minutes and 12 seconds.
Many felt the interruption shook Mbappé, but he bounced back in the second half. He broke the deadlock in the 60th minute with a composed finish, and Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé added a second six minutes later to seal a 2-0 win and send Les Bleus into the semifinals, per ESPN.
