It’s France vs Argentina in the world cup final

It was as if the whole of Morocco had descended into Al Bayt Stadium last night. The ear-bleeding whistles from the partisan Moroccan fans every time France had the ball or the jeers when Kylian Mbappe was stopped in his tracks would ring in the ears of the 68,294 spectators for years to come. So would Walid Regragui’s side’s historic run to the semi-finals of the Qatar World Cup that will inspire many in the African and Arab world.
Coach Regragui had called for that ‘crazy’ run to continue and boy did they give it a good shot. In the end, Morocco’s giant killing act was ended by a wily France, with the holders booking their second successive place in the final where they face Argentina at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday.
Theo Hernandez’s acrobatic volley in the fifth minute had given France a perfect start, but Morocco were not going to cave in that easily. But too many missed opportunities and injuries to key defenders was always going to make it a steep climb for them. And when substitute Kolo Muani scored with his first touch in the 79th minute, Morocco knew their glorious run would come to an end.
At the final whistle there was relief in the French camp, but it was tears from the Moroccan players and from the fans in the stands that was the telling moment of the second semi-final. While France will be chasing history – to become the first country to retain the World Cup for 60 years following Brazil’s triumphs in 1958 and 1962 – Morocco know they have inspired generations to come.
The Atlas Lions’ marauding run to the semi-finals, where they defeated European powerhouses Belgium, Spain and Portugal, is the story for the ages to come. They can still go on to create more history though as they aim to become the first African and Arab side to finish third at a World Cup, when then they take on another beaten semi-finalists Croatia in the play-off at the Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday.
“We gave the maximum, that’s the most important,” said Morocco coach Regragui. “We had some injuries, we lost Nayef Aguerd in the warm-up, Romain Saiss, Noussair Mazraoui at halftime. We paid for the slightest mistake. We didn’t get into the game well, we had too much technical waste in the first half, and the second goal killed us, but that doesn’t take away everything we did before.”
It was a nervy and hard-fought win for France, who were pushed all the way by the Moroccans backed by their vociferous crowd. Didier Deschamps had spoken about how his players would have to shut out the noise and Hernandez did exactly that when he powered France ahead.
With key defender Nayef Aguerd ruled out of the match after he was named in the starting line-up, Morocco’s backline took time to settle with the French taking advantage of it.
Antoine Griezmann picked out Mbappe, who missed with his first strike as Moroccan defenders swarmed him but the ball took a deflection and fell into Hernandez. The left-back volleyed with his left foot from the far post as Morocco conceded for only the second time in the tournament – the first was an own goal against Canada in the group stage.
It looked like they were in for a hammering when Mbappe had captain Romain Saiss in his mercy on the left flank and Olivier Giroud hit the post once and struck his next shot inches wide. Saiss, who had to be substituted after suffering a hamstring injury in the quarter-finals against Portugal, was clearly unfit and looked a liability before he was replaced by Selim Amallah just after 20 minutes.
Morocco, though were not going down without a fight as Azzedine Ounahi forced Hugo Loris to dive to his left and make a save, while Hakim Ziyech shot wide. Morocco, who had gone behind for the first time in the tournament, enjoyed the possession and had completed more passes in the first 30 minutes last night than they did in the entire game against Portugal.
They were unfortunate to not have been awarded a penalty when Sofiane Boufal was fouled by Hernandez, instead the referee inexplicably showed the Moroccan a yellow card. While they went into halftime a goal behind, Morocco looked the stronger team as Lloris got a hand to Jawad El Yamiq’s overhead kick which hit the post.
After the break, the North Africans launched wave after wave attacks with Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate, playing instead of unwell Dayot Upamecano, preserving France’s lead with some crucial blocks.
While Moroccans wasted a few golden opportunities – with an off-colour Youssef En-Nesyri guilty on a couple of occasions. France kept their composure just like they did against England in their quarter-finals. And when Mbappe’s shot deflected into the path of Eintracht Frankfurt forward Muani, who slid the ball into the net, it was the end of Morocco’s resistance and a second successive place in the final for France.
“There’s emotion, there’s pride, there’s going to be a final step, we’ve been together with the players for a month, it’s never easy, there’s happiness so far,” said a smiling coach Didier Deschamps.