World Cup: Poised and purposeful, France end Morocco’s dream to set up final with Argentina

AL KHOR, Qatar – On a night where emotion hung heavy, composed heads - as cool as the 18 deg C weather they played in - prevailed.

Defending champions France sealed their place in the World Cup final after a polished 2-0 victory over Morocco, this tournament’s surprise package, in their semi-final at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday night. They will play Argentina for the Cup on Sunday.

The Moroccans, already history makers by becoming the first African team to reach the final four of the World Cup, rode on the passionate backing of their supporters to get this far and were dreaming even bigger.

With the number of Arab players in their squad and cultural similarities between the two nations, the North Africans have been embraced as the “home” side in Qatar.

A rousing rendition of the Moroccan national anthem crescendoed with the line “let’s go brothers! Heading for grandeur!”, with even head coach Walid Regragui pictured singing at the top of his lungs.

A deafening shrill whistle would accompany every French player’s touch on the ball, and roar each time a player in red and green did, in anticipation of a break-neck counter-attack. They turned the stadium, not for the first time this tournament, into an intimidating cauldron of noise.

This worked for Morocco against a disjointed Belgium, when they beat the world’s No. 2 team 2-0 in the group stage.

Against Didier Deschamps’ seasoned heads, however, this almost had a detrimental effect.

With all at stake, the Moroccan players appeared over-eager in the opening exchanges. Midfielder Sofyan Amrabat and left-back Noussair Mazraoui lost their footing and slid past their opponents and the ball, trying to press aggressively.

But the French, led by the imperious Antoine Griezmann at the heart of midfield, remained calm, happy to soak up the pressure from the Moroccans and their fans.

And when Theo Hernandez volleyed home the opening goal in the fifth minute, it eased the pressure further.

It was the first goal Morocco had conceded to an opposing team at the World Cup. Unfamiliar and unwelcome, it exacerbated their early struggles.

Passes were rushed. Through balls were overhit. Star attacker Hakim Ziyech had a rare sight of goal but fluffed his lines and sliced his shot well wide.

The enforced substitution of skipper Romain Saiss because of injury after 20 minutes - which also meant a formation change from 5-3-2 to 4-3-3 - added to the team’s uncertainty.

 

Morocco coach Walid Regragui admitted to AFP that “we didn’t get into the game well”. “We paid for the slightest mistake,” he said, adding that “the second goal killed us”.

Nonetheless, he insisted that “that doesn’t take away everything we did before”.

Things might have been different had Jawad El Yamiq’s bicycle kick just before the end of the first half crept in, but the spectacular effort came off the post instead. French striker Olivier Giroud also had a shot that cracked the upright earlier on.

As it turned out, the difference in collectedness between the two teams was what ended the game as a contest.

In the 76th minute, Abderrazak Hamdallah found himself in a good position just inside the box but hesitated to pull the trigger. He was eventually crowded out by French defenders and shepherded away from danger as the chance went begging. So would Morocco’s dream, three minutes later.

France’s electric forward Kylian Mbappe, target of the loudest jeers from the Moroccan fans, kept his wits about him in the penalty box, danced between three defenders with the ball and took a shot which was deflected, but straight into the path of 24-year-old substitute Randal Kolo Muani, who made no mistake.

The goal precipitated the departure of a handful of fans from their seats, although the majority of them remained. As the seconds ticked away, they broke into another spontaneous rendition of the national anthem, waving their flags high and proud.

Regragui walked over to the French bench to congratulate Deschamps well before the final whistle.

For the French, their aim of becoming the first side to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil (1958, 1962) remains intact.

Once again, like in the quarter-final win over England, they were supremely efficient, deservedly winning even without Mbappe at his best for either match.

With an Argentina team who have demonstrated their own ability to play a controlled game - aided by a sprinkling of genius from their own mercurial forward Lionel Messi - an intriguing final awaits.

But there is no fear from this French team. As Kolo Muani told AFP: “The final isn’t just to be played, it’s to be won.”