It’s the second semifinal
Hello and welcome to France vs Morocco, the second semifinal of World Cup 2022.
The winners get to face Argentina at the grand finale on Sunday. The losers won’t go home tonight – there’s a third-place match taking place on Saturday.
Kickoff at 10pm (19:00 GMT) at Al Bayt Stadium.
- Morocco have never beaten France in five head-to-head matches.
- France are defending champions and have won the World Cup twice.
- Morocco had never gone past the World Cup last 16 prior to Qatar 2022.
A World Cup contest 110 years in the making
Wednesday’s semifinal will mark a historic moment as the teams of Morocco and its former colonizer France face off for the first time in a World Cup.
France XI: Lloris, Kounde, Varane, Konate, Hernandez, Griezmann, Tchouameni, Fofana, Dembele (Kolo Muani, 79′), Giroud (Thuram, 66′), Mbappe.
Morocco XI: Bounou, El Yamiq, Saiss (Amallah, 21′, Ezzalzouli, 78′), Dari, Hakimi, Amrabat, Ounahi, Mazraoui (Attia-Allah, 46′), Ziyech, En-Nesyri (Hamdallah, 66′), Boufal (Aboukhlal, 67′).
Lively atmosphere at Al Bayt Stadium
It’s an incredibly lively atmosphere here at Al Bayt Stadium, with a little more than two hours left until kickoff.
Morocco fans, as they have been at all of the Atlas Lions’ matches, are in the majority at the nearly 69,000-capacity venue.
Many supporters are picking up flags, scarves and shirts from stores around the stadium as they prepare for the match. Others have gathered near a stage where tracks by Madcon and Avicci are being belted out – high-octane music fitting for today’s highly anticipated clash.
Fans throng Al Bayt Stadium as kick-off nears
French President Emmanuel Macron is in Qatar to attend today’s match.
“We are all behind Les Bleus [the French team] for this victory,” he tweeted. “Without ever forgetting that sport brings us together above all in the respect and friendship between our two nations.”
Morocco’s World Cup success stirs national pride
Many football fans around the world have been surprised by Morocco’s success at the World Cup in Qatar, where it became the first African and Arab country to make it to the semifinals of the tournament.
RELATED: Why are Morocco called the Atlas Lions?
But the North African nation has long had a deep passion for the sport. Children can be seen playing football on the streets or on dusty fields, from the foothills of the snowy Atlas Mountains to the Medina of Marrakesh.
‘Both teams are hungry,’ France fan says
Cassandra has travelled to Qatar from France to support her team and admits Morocco are worthy competitors.
RELATED: France Vs Morocco FIFA World Cup 2022 Semi-Final Odds, Prediction, Playing 11, Live Stream
“Morocco is going to fight very hard, but France will win in the end,” the 31-year-old told Al Jazeera as she headed into the FIFA Fan Festival site. “Expect fireworks today on the field. Both teams are hungry.”
RELATED: Giroud and Mbappe make history as France knocks out Poland from World Cup
“[Kylian] Mbappe is at the top of his form, so it is going to be a good match,” she said on her way to Al Bidda Park in Doha.
Players warm up
Kick-off is fewer than 25 minutes away
Kickoff
And we’re off. Morocco with the kickoff.
1 min: France 0-0 Morocco
Loud boos when France have the ball
It’s clear who the crowd are rooting for. It’s a sea of red and green here at Al Bayt Stadium.
2 mins: France 0-0 Morocco
GOAL!
Theo Hernandez scores for France.
Mbappe’s shot from near the penalty box is blocked but the deflection falls to Hernandez at the far post, who acrobatically lashes the ball home. Scrappy goal for Morocco to concede.
4 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
France’s goal has silenced some of the tens of thousands of Morocco fans packed inside Al Bayt Stadium, and we can finally hear some applause from the followers of Les Blues.
This is the first time in this World Cup that Morocco have conceded a goal scored by an opposition player.
First time Morocco have gone behind
Morocco have never encountered this situation in this World Cup. This was only the second goal they’ve conceded in the tournament.
7 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Giroud hits the post
A long ball over the top finds Giroud, whose powerful shot from the corner of the box smacks against the post and goes out for a goal kick.
End to end here.
16 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Early change for Morocco
Captain Romain Saiss goes off through injury and Selim Amallah comes on in his place.
21 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Morocco switch to four at the back after Saiss withdraws
Saiss’s exit with injury has forced a change of formation for the Atlas Lions, who have switched from a 5-4-1 to a 4-3-3 as they seek to find a way back into the game.
But with an inexperienced pairing in the middle of their defence, Morocco’s notoriously tight backline may now face a real struggle to contain France’s array of attacking threats.
Morocco fans in fine voice despite early setback
Their side might be one goal down, but Morocco fans are back to throwing their full support behind the Atlas Lions.
They are switching between the ear-splitting whistling which has come to define Morocco matches at this World Cup and chants of “siir” – which means “go” – together with Viking thunderclaps.
Atlas Lions probing
Morocco hit the post
Jawad El-Yamiq nearly scores the goal of the tournament there. The centre back’s incredible bicycle kick from a Morocco corner is pushed by Hugo Lloris onto the post. What an effort!
44 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Half-time: France 1-0 Morocco
Morocco end the half with a flurry of chances. El Yamiq’s bicycle kick brought them to life in those final few minutes.
Half-time: France 1-0 Morocco
Morocco have battled back after conceding early
Key statistics from a frenetic 45 minutes
A rapid start for France saw them go up 1-0 thanks to Theo Hernandez’s acrobatic effort after just five minutes of play.
The reigning world champions threatened on several occasions to extend their lead, but Morocco managed to pose problems too, particularly in an excellent period just before the interval, which saw the Atlas Lions create a string of goal-scoring opportunities.
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Surprisingly, the North African side has enjoyed the lion’s share of possession. France had been expected to dominate the ball because Morocco’s approach in the tournament until now has been centred on sitting deep and looking for opportunities to counterattack.
As it stands, France will be the happier of the two teams. But as long as the score remains 1-0, Morocco will continue to believe an upset is still on the cards.
Atlas Lions now on the ball after notching up wins without it
Morocco have had comfortably more possession against France, the reigning world champions, than against any other side they have faced in Qatar.
The only statistic that really matters is the scoreline, of course, but this one is notable.
Second half under way
Second half, here we go. France with the ball.
46 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
France coach Didier Deschamps
Morocco coach Walid Regragui
Amrabat with a crunching tackle
Mbappe breaks free down the right, but Amrabat comes sliding in and takes the ball. He can’t keep up with the PSG man’s pace, but his drive is limitless.
Mbappe is receiving treatment on the pitch.
52 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Morocco need to take advantage of their dominance
France have struggled for control, and Morocco are all over them.
The Atlas Lions need to make their dominance count for something before France find their bearings again. It’s a crucial phase of the game now.
59 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Change for France
Giroud is off, Marcus Thuram is on.
65 mins: France 1-0 Morocco.
Mbappe playing down the middle
Marcus Thuram has taken his place down the left and the Borussia Mönchengladbach has looked bright since coming on. His directness is creating problems for Morocco.
70 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Changes for both sides
For Morocco, Amallah is off. Abde Ezzalzouli is on in his place.
For France, Dembele is off, and Randal Kolo Muani is on.
78 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
GOAL!
Kolo Muani scores for France!
Mbappe remarkably weaves his way past a clutter of legs in the box and gets a shot away, but it’s blocked. The deflection falls to Kolo Muani, who taps in from close range. It was his first touch of the game.
79 mins: France 2-0 Morocco
NB: Use Vpn to watch the goal for some countries
Morocco look beaten
That second goal has taken the wind out of Morocco’s sails. It’ll take a miracle for them to come back from two goals down. France are beginning to look comfortable here.
83 mins: France 2-0 Morocco
Morocco should keep their heads high
The 2-0 scoreline belies their performance and how close this game was.
Morocco responded well to the early goal and had France on the ropes in the early part of the second half. They were competitive and didn’t shy away from playing their game against the defending champions.
Full time: France 2-0 Morocco
France are through to the final.
Full time: France 2-0 Morocco
Worthy finalists
The thing with France is, they have rarely stepped out of second gear in this World Cup. Barring certain periods – as we saw today and in the quarterfinal against England – they’ve rarely had to dig deep in games. Despite being wrecked by injuries, they’ve continued to march on.
Take, for example, Youseff Fofana today – he came into the XI to replace the unwell Adrien Rabiot who himself had found a place in the XI owing to injuries to N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba. The transition in each of these cases has been seamless.
A team, in every sense of the word.
‘Amazing achievement,’ says Morocco fan
Despite the loss, Yassine Azami, 35, said he doesn’t feel sadness but a sense of “pride” his country made it so far in the world’s most prestigious tournament.
“We made history. The players have made us so proud of our country … we can never thank them enough,” the 35-year-old Tangier resident said.
Azami, who is a chartered accountant, said the players and the coach will be welcomed with “open arms” back in Morocco for this “amazing achievement”.
Mbappé and Hakimi swapped jerseys after battling in the semifinals ?
PRESIDENT BIDEN
It was a great honor to watch today’s World Cup match alongside Prime Minister Akhannouch of Morocco. No matter who you’re rooting for, it was remarkable to watch how much this team has been able to achieve.
? Another day, another midfield masterclass from Antoine Griezmann at the #FIFAWorldCup.
That’s all from us today
So there you have it. Morocco’s incredible run in this World Cup comes to an end and France cruise into Sunday’s final where they’ll face Argentina.
A reminder that Morocco still have the third-place game to play against Croatia on Saturday.
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