African trailblazers Morocco will endeavour to continue their magical World Cup 2022 journey when they face a monumental test of their mettle against current holders France in Wednesday’s semi-final at the Al Bayt Stadium.
The Atlas Lions stunned Portugal 1-0 to reach the final four, while Les Bleus sent a dogged England side home via a 2-1 scoreline to keep their hopes of back-to-back titles alive, and either Argentina or Croatia will await the victors in the showpiece event.
A missed Harry Kane penalty is a collector’s item in football, and France were the “lucky” recipients – according to Didier Deschamps – of such good fortune, as the reigning champions prevented England from bringing football home in a memorable quarter-final.
Les Bleus failed to win any of their first three World Cup semi-finals, but they have since prevailed on their last three occasions in 1998, 2006 and 2018, and it has been 84 years since a European nation managed to reach the World Cup final as reigning champions – the Italian luminaries of 1934 and 1938 were the most recent to do so.
No matter what transpires at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday, the current Morocco crop have already cemented their place in national and continental folklore as the first-ever African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Being forced to cope without Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui while meeting a Portugal side who hit Switzerland for six was not what the doctor ordered for coach Walid Regragui, but his stand-ins performed admirably to keep A Selecao at bay, and a Youssef En-Nesyri header was all it took for the Atlas Lions to make African history.
Having taken maximum spoils against three international behemoths in Belgium, Spain and Portugal, Morocco would be worthy finalists indeed, and the Atlas Lions enter the semi-final having remarkably prevented opposing players from scoring in the entire tournament so far. Aguerd’s own goal against Canada represents the only time that Morocco w has conceded in Qatar.
Profligacy has been of major benefit to Morocco too, as only nine of the 45 shots they have faced at the World Cup have been on target, but facing a France side who have never suffered defeat to the Atlas Lions in five matches should not intimidate Regragui’s players or their vociferous fanbase.
France’s all-time leading male goalscorer Giroud could become the oldest player in history to score five goals in a single World Cup should he make the net ripple here, and while Kylian Mbappe was kept relatively quiet by England, Les Bleus have now won all 10 World Cup games in which the 23-year-old has started.
Morocco may very well try to rush themselves back for what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and a France team who have only needed Mbappe to be in the starting lineup to win World Cup matches will no doubt take advantage, so a second successive final should be on the menu for Les Bleus.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
