Al Bayt Stadium is the venue as reigning world champions France and 2022 World Cup surprise package Morocco go head-to-head in Wednesday’s exciting semi-final. While Les Bleus’ confident run to the final four in Qatar comes as no major surprise, the African team’s phenomenal campaign in the Middle East has come against the odds.
One of the rare nations in Qatar showpiece to have booked their place in the tournament’s knockout stages with a game to spare, defending champions France eased past Poland in the round of 16. Inspired by Kylian Mbappe’s second-half brace, Didier Deschamps’ side thumped the Poles 3-1 to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final tie against England.
While Mbappe was not as decisive as in his previous World Cup matches, Milan frontman Olivier Giroud stepped up to the plate to ensure ‘it’s not coming home’ by scoring a late header to eliminate England. France may have claimed a dramatic 2-1 triumph in a feisty affair at Al Bayt, yet things could have been different if Harry Kane didn’t miss the spot-kick in the 84th minute.
Deschamps will be desperate for a more assured performance from his men against Morocco, whose dream run in Qatar continues to push the boundaries in international football. The Atlas Lions are a gift that keeps on giving, and they’ve shown no signs of stopping despite being pitted against one of the world’s best sides.
Walid Regragui’s side first dispatched FIFA’s #2-ranked Belgium in the group stages, courtesy of a 2-0 win. After finishing top of Group F without a single loss (W2, D1), they pulled off a heroic penalties win over Spain in the inaugural knockout round. But Morocco still saved the best for the last.
Youssef En-Nesyri’s first-half header stunned Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals, helping Morocco become the first African nation to make it to the semi-finals of a World Cup. The sky is the limit for this courageous team, who will go down in the history books no matter what happens on Wednesday.
Match Preview
France
France are only two wins away from becoming the first nation to defend the World Cup crown since Brazil in 1962, and their recent semi-final record looks inspiring. After defeats in their first three last-four appearances at a World Cup, Les Bleus have won their last three such fixtures in a row.
However, it’s not all rosy for the Frenchmen. Deschamps’ second-string lineup fell to an abysmal 1-0 loss to Tunisia in a Group D dead rubber, extending France’s indifferent World Cup record against African nations. They have alternated between winning and losing across their six previous matches against teams from the CAF region (W3, L3).
While that threatens to throw a spanner in the works, Mbappe & Co will be optimistic about overcoming this hurdle and becoming the first reigning champion since Brazil in 1998 to reach the World Cup grand final. The Paris Saint-Germain superstar leads the scoring charts in Qatar with five goals and will be in the thick of his side’s bid to curtail Morocco’s dream run.
Morocco
The Moroccans have already proved they can be a thorn in anyone’s side, building their stellar World Cup campaign on a watertight backline. Indeed, no opposition player has yet to score against the Atlas Lions in Qatar. Regragui’s defense has capitulated only once this winter, courtesy of Nayef Aguerd’s own goal in a 2-1 win over Canada in the group stages.
With four shutouts under their belt, Morocco could be potentially staring down the barrel of a good omen. The last two nations to go five matches without conceding at a single World Cup tournament went on to lift the trophy. Stretching outside the Qatari borders, Morocco have registered an eye-catching eight clean sheets across their last nine outings.
Given their formidable defensive record, it’s no wonder they have strung together six consecutive World Cup matches without losing (W3, D3), accounting for the best unbeaten streak by an African nation in World Cup history. So France would be well advised to avoid complacency.
Team News
Despite not picking up any further injury setbacks since Lucas Hernandez’s knee problem in a 4-1 humbling of Australia on day one, France boss Deschamps made just one substitution against England last time out.
Given what’s at stake, Les Bleus’ gaffer will likely stick to his favorite lineup, even though Ousmane Dembele’s toothless quarter-final appearance made Deschamps reassess Kingsley Coman’s place in the pecking order.
On the other hand, Morocco weathered a second-half storm against Portgual to set up this tie. However, they paid the ultimate price for that success as captain Romain Saiss limped off the field on the stroke of the hour mark.
Luckily for Regragui, his other first-choice center-back Aguerd looks on the cusp of regaining full fitness for this clash. The same goes for Noussair Mazraoui, who had to sit out the match against Portugal due to illness.
France vs Morocco Head-to-Head
Though this will be the first-ever World Cup showdown between France and Morocco, Les Bleus have every reason to look forward to Wednesday’s contest. They’ve been unbeaten in all five previous meetings with the Atlas Lions (W3, D2).
Yet their most recent encounter yielded an action-packed 2-2 draw in a friendly back in 2007.
France vs Morocco Potential Line-ups
France (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez; Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe; Olivier Giroud.
Morocco (4-3-3): Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Jawad El Yamiq, Badr Benoun, Yahya Attiyat-Allah; Azzedine Ounahi, Sofyan Amrabat, Salem Amallah; Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, Sofiane Boufal.
Final Prediction
France 3-1 Morocco
With all due respect to Morocco’s outrageous defensive effort throughout the tournament, France should be strolling into the grand final. With fatigue and several injury-hit stars seemingly catching up with the Moroccans, Mbappe and Giroud may have a field day at Al Bayt.
It won’t be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination, but if Les Bleus open the scoring early, this could be a long evening for the African heroes. Even if they don’t, we still expect Deschamps’ side to come out on top, mainly due to boasting fresher legs.