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The France team won their World Cup semi-final 2-0 against Morocco. The Blues can now be the first team to retain their league title but that will require a top duel against Messi’s Argentina on Sunday.
The Blues a little closer to the impossible. By winning their duel “for history” against Morocco (2-0) on Wednesday December 14, the French team took another step towards their dream of retaining their world champion crown. There remains a challenge and probably the most terrible: Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Coming for “nothing other than winning and winning the World Cup” in his words, Moroccan coach Walid Regragui had nevertheless prepared a big poker move for France before kick-off: the announcement of the return of Aguerd, package for the previous round, and the use of an unprecedented 5-4-1 system, intended to lock the Atlas Lions safe a little more.
The first bluff is fanned during the hymns. Aguerd is finally unable to hold his place and is replaced by Darit. However, France is not at the end of its troubles. She knows that she will evolve in the middle of a stadium hostile to her cause. Players are booed as soon as their name is announced. Attempts to whistle burst at the start of “la Marseillaise” and the blue supporters, a thin navy rectangle in the middle of a red tide, are inaudible. And the French must do without Rabiot and Upamecano, insufficiently recovered from a sore throat.
Quick opening of the score
Is it to avoid having excessively ringing ears? Still, the men of Didier Deschamps choose to leave possession to their opponents. They give up the ball to them, close their penalty area, and only attack with pressure in their midfield.
On one of these high recoveries, Griezmann takes advantage of a Moroccan slip to go into the space in front of him and center Mbappé. The resumption of Bondy’s prodigy is countered and fails on Hernandez who contorts to send a half-volley into Bounou’s net (5e1-0).
The worst possible scenario for Morocco, which does not appear knocked out. Azzedine Ounahi sends a shot from 25 meters which forces Hugo Lloris to a horizontal parry (10e). The Blues are warned: the Atlas Lions can bite at any time. On the bench, Walid Regragui definitively gives up his tactical move by bringing out Saïss, hit in the thighs in the last two matches, and returning to 4-1-4-1, the device which took him to the last four.
Olivier Giroud is twice close to scoring the final ball: escaped behind the defense, he finds Bounou’s post with a heavy shot (17e). Then, Mbappé deposits Hakimi and places the ball to the right of Bounou. El-Yamiq saves. Giroud followed in the box but his curling shot from the left misses the target (36e).
Morocco very close to equalization
The goal would have been valuable. There followed a big moment of hesitation for the French where the Moroccans proved to be extremely dangerous. On a corner, Giroud releases as he can, El-Yamiq resumes acrobatically and Lloris jams the ball against the post (45e).
Mbappé is untenable on his left side after returning from the locker room. He multiplies the accelerations but his crosses back find no one, except Koundé who tries a Pavard (47e). Morocco responds and is close to equalizing with two balls lying around in the area (53e54e66e). The Atlas Lions benefit in particular from the French defensive deficiencies on the left side, that of Mbappé and Théo Hernandez. The Blues seem to take the hit and no longer respond to the physical challenge of the Moroccans.
Didier Deschamps then made the choice to bring in Marcus Thuram in place of Giroud. Lilian’s son leaves the axis to Mbappé and occupies the left side and gets a free kick at the corner post. Mbappé inherits the ball but it does nothing (69e). The coach of the Blues launches Kolo Muani in place of Dembélé and does him great good since the Frankfurt striker scores the goal of deliverance: Mbappé embarks on a series of dribbles in a very small perimeter in the Moroccan area, his shot is blocked and returns to the far post on the incoming who adjusts Bounou (79e2-0).
The Moroccans are KO standing and the Blues resist to afford their first clean sheet of the tournament. Before the match, Walid Regragui said he “did not believe in possession” but in “pragmatism” by praising the qualities of Didier Deschamps in this area. You have to believe that the coach of the Blues gave him a lesson in the matter by forcing the Atlas Lions to have the ball: 60% possession on arrival.
A tactic that sends the Blues to the final for the second consecutive World Cup. They will be able to write history, by becoming the first team to retain their title since Pelé’s Brazil in 1962. As for the brave Moroccans, they can still claim to become the first African team on the podium of a World Cup. Not sure that consoles them.
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