For Sofyan Amrabat, the situation was even worse: his country’s hopes of a place in the World Cup final were hanging by a thread.
“It was 1-0 and I knew, if they made it 2-0, the game was finished,” the midfielder would later tell The Athletic. “We were so near the final. So, yes, I put everything I had into that sprint. That tackle, it was the only way to stop him. It was the perfect tackle. And then I heard the stadium roar. People were celebrating like it was a goal.”
Morocco did not manage to overhaul the reigning world champions’ lead in Al Khor that night, but Amrabat’s meme-worthy takedown of Mbappe became arguably the defining moment of the midfielder’s career to date.