France was able to breach the lauded Moroccan defense in just five minutes.
The silky French playmaker Antoine Griezmann was able to get through and ran to the right of the box before hitting Kylian Mbappe with his outside foot. Even though the shot was blocked, the ball only looped up to the far post where Theo Hernandez volleyed it in with his left foot after four Moroccan players converged on the tournament’s joint-top scorer. When it made contact, he had both of his feet in the air.
France was on their way to the World Cup final in Qatar, four years after winning it in Russia.
However, Morocco, the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, was not going to give up easily; Walid Regragui, their coach, constantly persuaded his players to take revenge on their former colonizers.
It resulted in a riveting, breathless semifinal; France soaked up everything Morocco threw at them before Mbappe showed quick feet inside the box after being found by substitute Marcus Thuram 11 minutes from time. His shot was deflected, but it ended up in the path of another substitute, Randal Kolo Muani, who was at the far post. The 24-year-old made no mistake with his shot.
France defeated Argentina 2-0 to advance to the classic final; a match that Qatar would have loved to play at the beginning of the tournament because it will feature Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe on opposite teams, two players from Qatar’s sporting faces in Europe, Paris St. Germain.
If France wins the championship, they will become the third team in World Cup history and the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win the tournament.
Morocco’s fairytale run came to an end, but they can move forward with confidence. They made France work hard for nothing, and at the final whistle, France celebrated; Their players gave way and fell; Mbappe, Achraf Hakimi’s PSG teammate, is pulling him up.
During their run to the World Cup quarterfinals, Morocco had not conceded a goal to an opponent, not even in a shootout; the main objective against them was from their own player. Because they never fell behind, they never had to chase the game. Their perseverance and faith were being tested by the current champions on Wednesday night at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Hernandez’s goal, on the other hand, did not really dampen the enthusiasm or optimism of the numerous Moroccan fans who had come to paint the stadium red. Instead, all it did was increase the volume; the fans encouraging their players to fight back. Hugo Lloris’s tall frame saved them from scoring the equalizer by diving to his left to block Azzedine Ounahi’s flashing shot.
However, the objective implied Morocco was the ones getting a greater amount of the ball. Yet again they showed expectation however it was France, showing their amazing counterattacking skill, who might have killed the game off before half-time.
After Jawad Al Yamiq made a last-ditch intervention to block Mbappe’s attempt, Olivier Giroud hit the post and then shot wide. The ball was then pinged into the Moroccan box. However, Morocco came out on top at the end of the half; Lloris tipped Al Yamiq’s stunning bicycle kick from a corner onto the post.
They continued where they had left off in the first half for the second half; France is holding on despite being under constant attack from Hakim Ziyech and Hakimi down the right. However, Morocco was unable to come up with a solution, and Kolo Muani’s brief appearance on the field ended any hopes of a comeback.
