World Cup Daily: France secures date in final after being pushed to limit by Morocco
After every matchday of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Sportsnet.ca’s World Cup Daily weblog will recap the day’s occasions and sit up for the following day’s slate of video games.
Here’s what occurred on Wednesday in Qatar, in case you missed it…
THE RESULT
France 2, Morocco 0 in Al Kohr: Match studies || Match stats
MAIN TALKING POINT
A date with Argentina within the closing awaits France
France’s quest to grow to be the primary nation to repeat as champions in 60 years at a males’s World Cup stays alive after a hard-fought victory towards a Morocco facet that pushed Les Bleus to their limits. As the primary African nation to succeed in the semifinals of a World Cup, the Atlas Lions have received the hearts of many impartial supporters for the indomitable, preventing spirit they’ve proven in Qatar. It served them effectively in registering upset wins over European giants Belgium, Spain and Portugal within the earlier rounds.
But getting the perfect of the reigning World Cup holders was a bridge too far for Morocco, who put forth a valiant effort on Wednesday, particularly after key defender Nayef Aguerd was dominated out attributable to damage simply earlier than kickoff, whereas captain Romain Saiss lasted solely 21 minutes earlier than limping off with a hamstring subject. Theo Hernández’s purpose within the fifth minute by way of a chic half-volley was the primary purpose scored towards Morocco by the opposition at this World Cup – it conceded an own-goal in its 2-1 win over Canada – marking the primary time the Arab nation trailed at this match.
Morocco carried the majority of the attacking play within the second half and appeared sure to equalize as they pinned France deep inside their half of the sphere for lengthy stretches. But the Africans couldn’t discover a method to breach a stout French defence and had been dealt a curl sucker punch within the 79th minute. Largely nameless for a lot of the match, Kylian Mbappé conjured a second of magic out of nothing, dribbling previous two defenders earlier than his move took a deflection and located Kolo Muani on the again put up. Muani had been on the sphere for lower than a minute after being launched instead, however he made no mistake and slotted dwelling to place the sport away and break Moroccan hearts.
France’s win owed simply as a lot to its grit because it did to the talent displayed by Hernández and Mbappé on the 2 targets. Midfielder Adrien Rabiot and centre-back Dayot Upamecano had been key figures within the French workforce’s run to the semifinals, however supervisor Didier Deschamps needed to do with out each of them for this sport attributable to accidents. Substitutes Wesley Fofana and Ibrahima Konaté got here in as their replacements and barely put a foot improper, serving to France repel the problem of a surging Morocco for a lot of the second half.
GOAL OF THE DAY
After Antoine Griezmann carried the ball into Moroccan penalty space within the fifth minute, a mad scramble ensued that noticed Kylian Mbappé’s shot blocked. But the ball ultimately fell to Theo Hernández, who scored on a stunning half-volley from an angle with the ball virtually at eye degree.
MOMENT OF THE DAY
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SIX PACK OF STATS
• Theo Hernández is the third defender to have scored and earned an help in a single World Cup match with France, after Marius Trésor in 1982 and Bixente Lizarazu in 1998.
• Theo Hernández’s purpose at 4:39 is the earliest scored by any facet in a males’s World Cup semifinal since 1958 when Vavá scored inside two minutes for Brazil towards France.
• Frane’s Hugo Lloris made his nineteenth look on the World Cup, equalling Germany’s Manuel Neuer because the goalkeeper with essentially the most video games within the historical past of the boys’s competitors.
• France’s males’s workforce has by no means misplaced a World Cup match when main at halftime, successful 26 occasions and drawing as soon as.
• France’s Randal Kolo Muani scored the third-quickest purpose for a substitute at a males’s World Cup historical past (44 seconds), solely behind Uruguay’s Richard Morales in 2002 (16 seconds) and Denmark’s Ebbe Sand in 1998 (26 seconds).
• France has reached the boys’s World Cup closing 4 occasions within the final seven editions of the match (1998, 2006, 2018 and 2022), at the very least twice greater than every other nation over the identical interval.
Stats courtesy of Opta
THREE STARS OF THE DAY
1) Theo Hernández (France): The AC Milan left fullback scored the opener with a improbable end and was a tower of energy in anchoring a French again line that shut out a fervent Moroccan assault.
2) Antoine Griezmann (France): As normal, the Atlético Madrid ahead was good on either side of the ball, having a hand in establishing Hernández’s purpose and serving to the French preserve a clear sheet.
3) Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco): He was a dynamo within the coronary heart of the Africans’ midfield, finishing 83.1 per cent of his passes and registering a game-high 4 pictures (one heading in the right direction).
LOOKING AHEAD TO SATURDAY
Croatia takes on Morocco (10:00 a.m. ET) within the third-place match at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan. It’s anticipated that this sport might be the final at a World Cup for Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić, who turned 37 in September. For Morocco, it’s an opportunity to additional cement the best run by an African workforce in World Cup historical past.
John Molinaro is among the main soccer journalists in Canada, having lined the sport for over 20 years for a number of media shops, together with Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is at the moment the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a web site devoted to in-depth protection of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic will be discovered right here.
