After just five minutes, world champions France put a heavy damper on Moroccan hopes of reaching the World Cup final. The underdog plays committed but unsuccessfully forward in the semifinals. Then a Bundesliga striker makes the dream final between the defending champion and Lionel Messi clear.
The desert world championship gets its hot dream final of the superstars and teammates. Kylian Mbappé and France’s staunch world champions ended the Moroccan football fairy tale in a gripping semi-final with a 2-0 (1-0) score. They can win a second straight Gold Cup against Lionel Messi and Argentina on Sunday, becoming the first team since Brazil 1962.
Ever brave and aggressive, Morocco’s dream of becoming the first African team to reach the final was shattered after their historic advance to the semi-finals. France versus Argentina, on the other hand, is the perfect final for Qatar: the world stars of both nations are teammates at Paris St. Germain – and the French champions belong to the World Cup hosts. The Argentines defeated Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday.
The French followed suit. The 68,294 spectators in the “Bedouin tent” of Al-Khor supported the outsider mostly with enormous passion and volume, the anthem alone was an event. But it didn’t help: Theo Hernandez (5th), younger brother of the injured Bayern player Lucas, and Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani (79th), who came on as a substitute 44 seconds earlier, led France to the final despite intermittent problems. President Emmanuel Macron cheered alongside FIFA Regent Gianni Infantino.
So they will meet on Sunday (4 p.m. / ARD, MagentaTV and in the live ticker on ntv.de): Kylian Mbappe, 23 years young, agile, lightning fast, incredibly dangerous, the most expensive player in the world, already world champion of 2018. And : Lionel Messi, 35, six-time world footballer, then the only World Cup record player (26 appearances), the most talented player of his time – who only lacks this one title to crown it.
Béla Réthy commented on ZDF to say goodbye to his 66th birthday, a game that was sporting, historical and socio-politically charged. Coach Walid Regragui and some players have French roots; France had given Morocco independence as a colonial power in 1956. Riots were feared not only in Paris given the large number of Moroccans in the country. In the capital alone, 5,000 security forces were ready to intervene.
On the pitch, France took command without a player from the Munich quartet – and scored almost immediately. Five Moroccans threw themselves into two attempts by Mbappe in the penalty area, leaving Hernandez free and scoring with a high left leg. It was the earliest World Cup semi-final goal since Brazil’s Vava in 1958.
Morocco, undeterred behind with a five-man chain, conquered a few balls in midfield and found their way into the game, Hugo Lloris had to save for the first time against Azzedine Ounahi (10th). Olivier Giroud shook the post on the other side (17′). It went up and down, Morocco’s acclaimed defense faltered because it was higher than before. In addition, Roman Saiss was substituted early on.
Nevertheless, the big surprise team of the finals remained risk-taking, creative, strong. Example: Defender Jawad El Yamiq spectacularly hit the post with an overhead kick (44′). France’s midfield was easier to beat without Adrien Rabiot, and deep passes repeatedly caused unrest. However, Morocco was extremely dangerous when Mbappe or Aurelien Tchouameni went: Giroud missed a second big chance (36th).
Morocco released a defender from the chain during the game, Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui stayed in the dressing room at half-time. The pressure immediately increased: France had some trouble defusing dangerous crosses into the six-yard box.
Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi drove energetically, Sofiane Boufal turned up the heat as a dribbler. It was a phase in which Morocco unfolded all its strength and power, laboriously kept in check by the world champion. Mbappé felt the hardness, but held back: the deflected shot before the 2-0 was his.
