Haaland Joins Mbappe VAR Debate Following France's World Cup Quarter-Final Win

Published 10 July 2026 · sports

Haaland Joins Mbappe VAR Debate Following France's World Cup Quarter-Final Win Published By, Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 13:39 IST Erling Haaland joined the debate

Haaland Joins Mbappe VAR Debate Following France's World Cup Quarter-Final Win Published By, Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 13:39 IST Erling Haaland joined the debate over Kylian Mbappe's delayed penalty after France beat Morocco, saying the three-minute VAR wait was "way too long" for any taker. Rapid Read Haaland took to Snapchat to share his two cents on the delayed penalty (AP, X) Erling Haaland has weighed in on the growing debate surrounding Kylian Mbappe’s missed penalty during France’s 2-0 FIFA World Cup quarter-final victory over Morocco, suggesting the lengthy VAR delay worked against the French captain. France booked a place in the semi-finals thanks to second-half goals from Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, but the biggest talking point from the match in Boston came long before Les Bleus opened the scoring. Mbappe had the chance to give France an early lead after referee Facundo Tello awarded a penalty when Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui brought him down inside the box.

However, the decision was subjected to an unusually long VAR review that lasted more than three minutes. The France captain was left waiting for 3 minutes and 10 seconds before he could finally take the spot-kick. During the delay, Mbappe appeared visibly frustrated, speaking animatedly with Tello before both teams moved towards the scheduled hydration break. When play eventually resumed, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou guessed correctly and produced an excellent save to deny Mbappe from the penalty spot. The Real Madrid forward reacted with frustration, throwing his arms into the air after the miss. The incident quickly sparked discussion among fans and pundits, with Haaland becoming the latest high-profile player to offer his opinion. Haaland calling out the Argentinian referees for making Mbappe wait so long to take his penalty pic.twitter.com/e7UQ036RPz— WolfRMFC (@WolfRMFC) July 9, 2026 The Manchester City striker shared an image of Mbappe preparing to take the penalty on Snapchat, accompanied by the caption: “Need to wait 5 min to take a penalty is way too long." Although Haaland exaggerated the delay — Mbappe actually waited just over three minutes — his post reflected the wider feeling that prolonged VAR reviews can disrupt a penalty taker’s rhythm and concentration.

Mbappe, however, bounced back in style after the break. The 27-year-old cut inside before curling a superb strike beyond Bounou to finally break the deadlock, claiming his eighth goal of the tournament. Dembele added a second soon after as France sealed a comfortable 2-0 victory to reach a third consecutive World Cup semi-final, where they will face either Spain or Belgium in Dallas. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Siddarth Sriram After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His... Read More First Published: July 10, 2026, 13:39 IST News sports football Haaland Joins Mbappe VAR Debate Following France's World Cup Quarter-Final Win Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s.