Only the champion could conquer the Atlas (a mountain range in Northwest Africa) and put an end to Morocco’s dream and resistance. While Lionel Messi’s Argentina waited for an opponent for Sunday’s final, Kylian Mbappé’s France stopped Portugal’s executioner 2-0 in the game that suffered the most in this 2022 World Cup, but ended happily. For history, the epic walk of the one who became the best African team at World Championships and who will still fight for the podium with Croatia (Saturday).
The game started with two novelties for each side. Deschamps had to leave Konaté and Fofana in the game due to problems with Upamecano and Rabiot who, according to the French press, showed flu-like symptoms. On the Moroccan side, without Cheddira, suspended for being sent off against Portugal, Walid Regragui bet on the return of Mazraoui and Aguerd and thus changed the tactical system, which would make the team more vulnerable defensively. That was also evident from the early goal of the French.
In five minutes, Theo Hernández challenged Morocco to recover from a deficit for the first time in this World Cup. Apart from Aguerd’s own goal (with Canada), no one had beaten Bono yet. The Milan fullback succeeded in the fifth minute with a superb finish worthy of Griezmann and Mbappé’s move. It took Ounahi little time to counter this defensive idea from the Moroccans and force Lloris to fly to avoid the draw.
Regragui’s initial plan failed after five minutes. And at a time when it was necessary to react, the Moroccan coach was forced to remove Romain Saïss from the game, who had almost helped Giroud to 2-0 just before – the shot hit the post -, and sent Selim Amallah instead.
Back to the usual 4x3x3, Morocco regained its identity and France struggled to cope and chose to attack for sure and thus lowest possession (47% to Morocco’s 53%) at the end of the first half. That didn’t stop Mbappé from getting very close to scoring the second goal, when he was isolated from Bono, after a great move from Tchouaméni, forced the Moroccan goalkeeper to solve as best he could… Giroud didn’t take advantage of the rebound .
Before the break, El Yamiq came close to an epic moment, with an overhead kick that Lloris blocked with the help of the post. The Tottenham goalkeeper showed all the confidence he needed to keep his team in the lead when he blocked another dangerous chance soon after, this time from Achraf Hakimi.
Muani’s dream in one touch
For the second half, Regragui’s biggest challenge was dealing with the wear and tear built up and Mazraoui failed to return. With Yahia Allah on the field, the French team experienced moments of great distress. Youssef En-Nesyri was a few centimeters away from the equalizer and Hakimi shone with a loose ball in the penalty area.
At this stage, France was missing something to be dominant and close the game. Deschamps’ team even defended with nine – Griezmann was a kind of first aid – and bet on the quick exits of Mbappé, who was always on Achraf Dari’s heels. To regain balance, the French coach took out Giroud and brought in Marcus Thuram. The effect was not immediate.
Only when Randal Kolo Muani came off the bench (80th minute) and made it 2-0 with his first touch, did Deschamps take a deep breath. The goal resulted in a brilliant work from Mbappé, reminiscent of the Argentine goal that Messi offered Julián Alvaréz with Croatia. Muani only had to step aside to put France in the final. The Gauls will compete for the trophy for the fourth time in history, the second in a row. Since Brazil (1998 and 2002), a selection has not been in the final.
SEE GAME STATISTICS HERE.
Source: DN
