‘I don’t have the words to describe it’: Randal Kolo Muani says ‘it still hasn’t sunk in’ after he scored the third quickest goal by a substitute in World Cup history just 44 seconds after coming on in France’s 2-0 win over Morocco in their semi-final
Randal Kolo Muani has spoken of his ‘magical’ moment against Morocco after he scored the third fastest goal by a substitute in World Cup history in the semi-final.
After the Atlas Lions had threatened to come back into the game with their best spell of the match, Muani put the game to bed by latching on to the end of a Kylian Mbappe cross just 44 seconds after coming off the bench.
His goal took France out of Morocco’s reach at 2-0, as the champions cruised into yet another final.
Randal Kolo Muani scored France’s second goal as they beat Morocco 2-0 in their semi-final
the 79th minute strike was the third fastest goal from a substitute in World Cup history
For Muani, the moment was yet to fully sink in. Speaking to TF1, he said: ‘I’m still in a dream, I’m finding it hard to wake up. We’ll realise it tomorrow morning.
‘It’s magical, I don’t have the words to describe it. We have to give ourselves the means to go all the way.’
On the goal, itself the 24-year-old forward was keen to deflect the credit to his teammate, as he added: ‘It’s a good thing I followed Kylian [Mbappe], he’s the one who did all the work. I can be proud of my positioning.’
The 24-year-old described the goal as ‘magical’ but admitted it hadn’t fully sunk in yet
Mbappe did show some spectacular close control to worm his way into the box to create the chance, and there were some comments that Muani could scarcely have been given an easier chance to score, with Alan Shearer saying on the BBC ‘You don’t mind those as a substitute!’
The win for France means they will face Argentina in Sunday’s final, in a game that is already being billed as a potential passing of the torch between Lionel Messi and Mbappe.
While there may be bigger names in France’s forward line, Muani could be a key player off the bench, especially if the game goes to extra-time.
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