France qualified for the final match of the Qatar World Cup 2022, on Wednesday, after defeating Morocco with two clean goals, at Al-Bayt Stadium, in the semi-final round.
The two sides entered the “Al-Bayt” stadium with different accounts from the previous matches, as Walid Rekragui preferred to play with five defenders and four in midfield with the presence of a single striker, Youssef Al-Nusairi, while Adrien Rabiot’s sudden illness forced French coach Didier Deschamps to involve Youssef Fofana in the middle.
The “Roosters” team confused the accounts of the “Atlas Lions” with an early goal that came 5 minutes after the start, following a trail inside the Moroccan penalty area. Theo Hernandez took advantage of it to put the ball into the net of Yassine Bono, who conceded for the second time in this tournament.
Immediately after the goal, Ezzedine Onahi tried to catch up with the result with a powerful shot, which was ably nullified by Hugo Lloris at the 9th minute, so that the French appeared again through Olivier Giroud, who single-handedly hit the right post of Morocco.
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The Moroccan national team found themselves with Rekraki returning to the previous formation with a 4-4-3, and advanced defender Jawad Al-Yamiq almost equalized with a wonderful scissor, as Lloris cooperated with the right post on her response.
The beginning of the second half witnessed great pressure from the Moroccan side through the breakthroughs of Hakim Ziyech and Onahi, but the final touch was absent from the “Atlas Lions” and missed the recording on several occasions, most notably the opportunity of Hamdallah in the 76th minute.
In contrast to the course of the match, Kylian Mbappe penetrated the Moroccan defense and hit a ball that rebounded to reach substitute Randall Colo, who easily put it in the goal for a second goal with the 79th minute.
The remaining minutes passed without any change in the level of the score, and the final whistle came, announcing France’s victory and reaching the final match to defend its title against Argentina, next Sunday.
On Saturday, Morocco will play Croatia for third place, as the latter lost against Argentina in the semi-finals, with three goals free of charge.