Yesterday in Qatar, the match of the second semi-final of the World Cup took place, determining the participant in the decisive match. France won with a score of 2:0, Morocco can only hope for third place.
France participated in the match as the reigning world champions after winning in 2018. Morocco is the first ever African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. Despite the lack of goals scored against her, the experts did not give them too many chances to win.
Already in the fourth minute after the starting whistle, as a result of a successful attack and several shots in the penalty area, Theo Hernandez scores a goal. Killian Mbappe has become the leader of the attacks of the reigning world champions. He hit the Moroccan team’s goal, and the ball bounced to the far post, where Theo Hernandez managed not only to reach him in an acrobatic jump, but also send it into the net – 1:0.
The Moroccan team looked dumbfounded and after 10 minutes almost missed another goal – the ball from Olivier Giroud’s shot hit the post. A minute later, the captain of Morocco, Romain Saiss, asked for a replacement due to his injury. The first half ended brightly: the Moroccan striker El-Yamik, in a fall over himself, struck into the near bottom corner – the goalkeeper saved.
In the second half, the Africans came out better prepared – they controlled the ball well, passed more, but this did not bring any results. Exhausted by the injuries of the leading performers of the brilliant defense, the Moroccans tried to recoup, which they had not yet done at this Mundial, because the missed goal was the first. But ten minutes before the end of regular time, Colo Muani, who came on as a substitute, set the final score of the meeting with the very first touch to the ball. Mbappe hit the African team’s goal, the ball ricocheted from one of the Moroccans and again flew to the far post, where the young striker had only not to miss – 2:0. The defense of Morocco, which flawlessly held this Mundial, again made a mistake: Mbappe pulled three defenders towards him and gave a beautiful pass, allowing Colo Muani to score the ball into the goal net.
French President Emmanuel Macron supported his team on the podium. France, thanks to the victory, will play in the final against Argentina, while Morocco will fight for third place against the reigning world vice-champion Croatia. For the French team, this exit to the World Cup final was the fourth in history. After triumphs in 1998 and 2018, Didier Deschamps’ team got a rare opportunity to defend the title, which was only possible in the early days of the tournament.
The 2022 World Cup final will take place on December 18. Morocco on Saturday, December 17, will meet with Croatia in the match for third place.
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