France 2-0 Morocco: France has again reached the final of the World Cup. The defending champion defeated Morocco in the semi-finals, ending an African fairy tale. Les Bleus now meet Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the final .
Reigning world champion France saw Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot drop out beforehand, the problems for Morocco only came just before kick-off. Nayef Aguerd dropped out in the warm-up. Captain Roman Saïss did start, but was subbed off very early in the game.
1st half
All the uncertainties seemed to break up Morocco in the opening phase. It took less than five minutes for it to take a big hit. Theo Hernández – star in the first half – opened the scoring after a razor-sharp attack. The left-back was first to a ball that ended up at the near post and knocked goalkeeper Bono. It was the goalkeeper’s first goal against – excluding an own goal – this World Cup.
The first half hour Morocco seemed to be overcome by nerves. France was lord and master and was even very close to the second goal via Olivier Giroud, but the veteran hit the post. To make matters worse for the Moroccans, captain Saïss also dropped out afterwards. Opportunities for Kylian Mbappé, Giroud again and Raphaël Varane, however, did not push the underdog even deeper into the ropes. In fact, just before halftime, Jawad El Yamiq was dangerous with a spectacular bicycle kick. His bet hit the post, leaving Morocco with a deficit to go to tea.
2nd half
Without Mazraoui, Morocco went on the hunt for the equalizer in the second half. The left back remained in the dressing room and was replaced by Yahia Attiyat Allah. And that one immediately became dangerous twice, but Ibrahima Konaté was able to prevent the equalizer with a fabulous action. However, the Lions of the Atlas set the tone, directed by the tough Amrabat. The midfielder made his mark immediately after the break by ruthlessly putting Mbappé off the ball. The Frenchman cried out, sulked and whined at the referee, but just had to move on.
By taking Giroud to the side and bringing Marcus Thuram into the team, Didier Deschamps wanted to use the spaces behind the defenders of the Moroccans. With this, partly thanks to the calm on the ball of star Antoine Griezmann, he also got the peace back in his team. Thuram succeeded father Lilian with his substitution, who scored twice on behalf of France in the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1998 and later became world champion with Les Bleus . Rotterdam-born Zakaria Aboukhlal, among others, came into the team to force the equalizer.
However, the fairy tale ended because of another sub. Less than a minute into the field, Randal Kolo Muani forced the decision. It was Mbappé who slalomed through the Moroccan defense, but his shot was still nipped in the bud. However, the substitute was able to hit the target from close range. It was his first ball contact, 44 seconds after his entrance, his first international goal and the end of the Moroccan dream as the scoreboard read, France 2-0 Morocco.
