World Cup 2022 

Semi Final-2: FRA vs MOR

Preview:

France and Morocco will face each other this Thursday, for the second semifinal of the Qatar 2022 World Cup starting at 12:30 AM IST. The French and Moroccans will be led by referee César Ramos and will meet at the Al Bayt Stadium in search of a place in the grand final on Sunday, December 18 at the Iconic Stadium in Lusail, where the winner will play against the Argentine National Team, which thrashed Croatia 3-0 last night in the first semifinal of the WC.

France reaches the semifinal as the main candidate not only to win the match against Morocco but also to win the title. Les Bleus finished first in Group D as a result of thrashing Australia 4-1 on their debut, beating Denmark 2-1 on the second date and, already qualified, losing narrowly to Tunisia at the end of the group stage.

In the round of 16, the French prevailed with great authority against Poland 3-1, in a match that was difficult at first, and they got among the eight best teams in the World Cup. Finally, in the quarterfinals, they beat England 2-1 in a vibrant duel and qualified for the World Cup semifinals, just as they did four years earlier in Russia.

In addition, France will play the semifinals of the World Cup for the seventh time in its history, and so far it has a very even record: it lost three times (to Sweden in 1958 and West Germany in 1982 and 1986) and won the same number of crosses (against Croatia in 1998, Portugal in 2006 and Belgium in 2018). The French national team played 6 games against African rivals in the WC with 3 wins and 3 losses. They beat South Africa (3-0 in France 1998), Togo (2-0 in Germany 2006) and Nigeria (2-0 in the Round of 16 in Brazil 2014). They lost to Senegal (0-1 in Korea-Japan 2002), South Africa (2-1 in SA 2010) and Tunisia (0-1 in Qatar 2022).

For its part, Morocco came to this instance giving several surprises throughout the World Cup, becoming the tournament’s surprise team. The Moroccans finished first in Group F after drawing 0-0 with Croatia in their debut, beating Belgium 2-0 on the second day and defeating Canada 2-1 at the end.

In the round of 16, they had to face off against Spain, and after drawing 0-0 in the 120 minutes of play, Morocco won the match in a penalty shootout 3-0 and got a ticket to the next round. In the quarterfinals, they had another tough stop against Ronaldo's Portugal, but far from shrinking, the Africans beat the Europeans, defeated them 1-0 and qualified for the semifinals, making history, as they are the first African team to come between the best four teams in the world.

History of France and Morocco

In reviewing all the meetings between France and Morocco throughout history, both teams met in friendly matches six times. The first time was in 1975 when they drew 1-1 and Les Bleus qualified for the next round on penalties. Then, they met again in this competition in 1987, but in the group stage and drew 0-0.

In 1988 they faced each other again and France won 2-1, and ten years later, in 1998, they collided for the fourth time on African soil and after equalizing 2-2, the Moroccans won the definition on penalties. A few months later, with France as the current champion and Zidane the then winner of the Ballon d'Or, they met again and it was a 1-0 victory for the French. Finally, they collided for another friendly in 2007 and tied 2-2, taking into account that none of the players from that match is still in the current squads.

Match Details

Match: Semi Final-2: FRA vs MOR 

Date: 15 December 2022

Time: 12:30 AM  

Venue: Al Bayt Stadium

Key Players 

FRA: Mbappe the French star who shone in Russia wants to repeat as MVP of his team and, faced with the loss of the Ballon d'Or, the forward, has carried the weight of the French offensive line on his shoulders so far in the tournament. He is the current top scorer for the French team with 5 goals in the ongoing WC so far.

MOR: Hakimi is another great French league teammate of Mbappe, he is the star of the Moroccan team and scored 'Panenka' in the penalty shootout to knock Spain out of the World Cup. With a good duo along with Ziyech, Hakimi is one of the most participative on the offensive line, so he will have to be careful with the French.

Possible Starting XIs

FRA: Lloris; Koundé, Varane, Upamecano, Theo Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Griezmann; Dembele, Giroud, Mbappe

MOR: Bond; Hakimi, El Yamiq, Saiss or Dari, Attiat-Allah; Amrabat; Ziyech, Ounahi, Amallah, Boufal; Nesyri

Match Prediction

Defending World Champions France will face a strong and undefeated Moroccan side in today's 2nd semifinal. Morocco has not lost even a single match in this year's WC campaign and just conceded a single goal in the tournament which also came as an own goal against Canada in a Group match. The likes of Mbappe, Giroud and Griezmann will be eyeing to break the deadlock against the African side and take their side France into the consecutive World Cup finals. It is going to be a tough battle for both teams but one will come out as a winner. 

We say FRA 2-0 MOR

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