France became the first world champions to reach the final in 24 years, capping off Morocco’s magical journey with a 2-0 semi-final win at Al Bayt Stadium.
Outnumbered, the Blues faced a series of attacks from a Moroccan side that never gave up its soul, but goals from Theo Hernández and Randal Kolo Muani either side of half-time allowed France to hold on until Sunday’s final match against Argentina to qualify.
Morocco miraculously saved three Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui from their respective injuries in time for the semi-finals, but two of them were substituted in the 20th minute.
Aguerd dropped out of the starting eleven in the last minute and was replaced by Achraf Dari, who formed part of a five-man Moroccan defense and conceded his first World Cup goal against an opponent after five minutes.
Dari blocked an attempt from Kylian Mbappé well, but the ball rebounded well to Hernández, who gave the defending champions an early lead with an acrobatic performance from a tight angle.
The injury literally added insult to injury for Morocco as Saiss was slapped to Olivier Giroud’s pace in the 17th minute and welcomed the 36-year-old’s attempt to hit the post, but the Besiktas man moved carefully and had to finish in 21 minutes 🇧🇷
Saiss’ retirement led to a switch to a 4-3-3 formation for the Atlas Lions, who had their fair share of golden chances, with Azzedine Ounahi forcing a full-force save from Hugo Lloris down and Jawad El Yamiq nearly forcing a ball around . Hernández. goal, Tiro finished with a header from a corner, but Lloris recovered.
For his part, El Yamiq was good at deflecting Mbappé’s shot on goal in the 36th minute before giving the ball back to Giroud, who only managed to kick from a corner.
Having survived a series of set pieces from Hakim Ziyech, Didier Deschamps’ men went into the first half with an intact 1-0 lead, but Morocco failed to wave the white flag for the final score.
The latest member of Mazraoui’s injured triumvirate joined Saiss and Aguerd on the second-half bench as he was replaced by Yahia Attiyat Allah, scorer of Youssef En-Nesyri’s win against Portugal in the quarter-finals. 🇧🇷
Walid Regragui’s defensive risks didn’t work as expected, but his side started the second half as they had finished the first, putting pressure on a French side who had just come out of their own half.
The last Ballon d’Or did not arrive for Morocco and it was only in the 74th minute that another half chance presented itself for both teams, but Youssouf Fofana did not arrive, finding the side goal after Marcus Thuram’s relegation.
Thuram caused trouble down the left, but it was another French substitute who doubled France’s lead just 44 seconds after coming on as Mbappé swept through a sea of redshirts in the penalty area before his deflected shot went wide behind of Kolo and Muani. , who had the easy task of walking home from a yard with his first touch of the game.
Six minutes dragged on as Regragui’s men tried to do the unthinkable and the fourth minute of added time caused a sensation in the French area, but Jules Kounde brilliantly blocked the counterattack, Ounahi’s volley on the line.
Both sets of players took to the field for different reasons after the final whistle, as France now looked to become the third team in a row to become world champions after Brazil and Italy, while Morocco will battle Croatia for the third place.
Lineups:
Fracne Replacements: 20 K. Coman 23 A. Aréola 2 B. Pavard 15 J. Veretout 3 A. Disasi 18 D. Upamecano 6 M. Guendouzi 25 E. Camavinga 26 M. Thuram 17 W. Saliba 16 S. Mandanda 12 R. Kolo Muani
Morocco Replacements: 11 A. Sabiri 14 Z. Aboukhlal 13 I. Chair 15 S. Amallah 25 Y. Attiat-Allah 24 B. Benoun 20 A. Dari 9 A. Hamdallah 23 B. El Khannouss 16 A. Ezzalzouli 12 M. Mohamedi 22 A. Tagnaouti 10 A. Zaroury 26 Y. Jabrane
Scorers:
Yellow Cards:
