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In the World Cup semifinal on Wednesday, France prevailed 2-0 over Morocco, holding their composure to defeat the North Africans and earn a chance to defend their title. The victory set up a heavyweight matchup with Argentina.
Theo Hernandez and substitute Randal Kolo Muani scored goals to advance France to a fourth World Cup final, where they will attempt to become the first team to win the tournament back-to-back since Brazil 60 years ago.
It was exactly what their talented team deserved as they defeated Morocco 11 minutes from time after taking Morocco by surprise early on. This victory set up a matchup with Argentina on Sunday after Lionel Messi’s team defeated Croatia 3-0 in the first semi-final.
“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 coach Didier Deschamps.
As Morocco showed them no respect and created numerous chances of their own, coming close to a goal-equalizer, France found themselves in an engaging battle.
The world champions’ defence had to make several last-second plays, including a late goalline clearance and a spectacular bicycle effort from Morocco that hit the post.
But finishing turned out to be the crucial distinction, and after five minutes, the game started to favour the world champions.
The second goal was started by Mbappe, who attempted to first dribble through the Moroccan defence before shooting. His attempt was blocked, but the ball fell to Kolo Muani, who scored with his first touch after replacing Mbappe.
Achraf Hakimi and Mbappe’s rivalry was a competitive sideshow, but France could have scored at least two more goals in the first half had Olivier Giroud not hit the post and miss from close range.
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