France beat Morocco to reach final: Mbappe v Messi, Amrabat’s tackle and a rare fast start

France withstood an impressive Morocco display to set up a World Cup final with Argentina on Sunday that pits Kylian Mbappe against his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Lionel Messi.

Theo Hernandez, who came into the France side in the first game when his brother Lucas suffered a tournament-ending knee injury, scored the opening goal after just five minutes, acrobatically steering the ball past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

Morocco had plenty of possession but failed to draw level and one of France’s substitutes, Randal Kolo Muani, made it 2-0 with 11 minutes of normal time left after excellent play by Mbappe.

Dominic Fifield, Stuart James and Mark Carey analyse the key talking points…

This France team are one step from greatness

And so, Qatar’s World Cup has the kind of final that will have Qatar Sports Investments, owners of Paris Saint-Germain since 2011, as well as a global audience, drooling.

Neymar may have gone with Brazil’s quarter-finals elimination, but Sunday’s showpiece will see a tete-a-tete between Messi and Mbappe, the other stellar elements of PSG’s forward line, at the Lusail Stadium. The pair are the tournament’s joint leading scorers, competing for the Golden Boot. More significantly, one is seeking this trophy to cap a glittering career. The other is attempting to secure a second World Cup before he turns 24.

Read more: World Cup Final tactical preview: How Argentina vs. France could look

In that context, it might be easy to forget that the meeting between these two countries in the first knockout round of the previous World Cup in 2018 produced seven goals and one of the greatest games this tournament has ever given us.

Mbappe and Messi during France’s win over Argentina in the 2018 World Cup (Photo: Mehdi Taamallah/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The French prevailed that day in Russia. They will feel they can do so again in Qatar, fired as they are by Antoine Griezmann’s creative majesty and the firepower they boast across their forward ranks. They have beaten England and Morocco in the last two rounds with Mbappe only firing in fits and starts. Throw in Aurelien Tchouameni’s increasing authority in midfield and the canny and much-needed defensive know-how of Raphael Varane and Hugo Lloris — the Tottenham goalkeeper celebrated a first clean sheet for his country in 13 months in this one — and conviction is pepped.

Read more: Several France players have been dealing with sickness before the World Cup final. What will it mean for the match?

One more success will see France become the first nation to retain the World Cup in 60 years.

Didier Deschamps is already etched into this competition’s folklore as a winner as both a player and manager.

Repeat the feat from Moscow this weekend in Doha and he probably qualifies to take the trophy home himself as a keepsake.

Dominic Fifield

Morocco memories will last a lifetime

What a journey for Morocco, the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final and a team who played with so much courage throughout this tournament. The 2-0 scoreline makes it look like this was a fairly comfortable night for France but that was anything but the case. Morocco were excellent and not in any way overawed by the occasion. Unfortunately, it was the absence of a killer touch that cost them.

The skirmish in the French penalty area in stoppage time that finished with Abderrazak Hamdallah unable to turn the ball home, after the superb Azzedine Ounahi saw his shot blocked, rather summed up their evening in front of goal.

There were tears at the end among their supporters but Walid Regragui and his players have done their country and their continent proud. They have created memories that will last a lifetime and return home as heroes. 

Stuart James

Griezmann watch

Anyone like the new nickname “PVAntoine”? — because Antoine Griezmann is the glue that brings France’s play together.

In his 73rd consecutive appearance for France, Griezmann showed his quality yet again in his latest role with Didier Deschamps’ team.

Even a quick look at his touch map shows you Griezmann was everywhere against Morocco. When he was on the ball, he was composed, neat and tidy. Off the ball he was disciplined, defensively aware, yet aggressive.

His best moment came in the early stages, where he made space in his favoured right channel to spin away behind Morocco’s back line to pull the ball back for Mbappe — which led to France’s opener.

At the other end, when Morocco were in the ascendancy at the start of the second half, they broke France’s defensive line and got in down the right. Who was there to hoover it up? You guessed it.

Griezmann is a conductor even when he’s not on the ball. You could regularly find him pointing to where a team-mate should pass the ball. Hugo Lloris may be France’s captain, but the presence and experience that Griezmann provides cannot be underestimated as they prepare for their second consecutive World Cup final.

Mark Carey

Hakimi vs Mbappe

Team-mates at Paris Saint-Germain and close friends off the field too, this was always going to be a fascinating contest. Prophetically, Mbappe predicted this match-up earlier in the year, when he joked that he would “destroy” his friend when it happened. 

A handshake in the tunnel and the gloves were off.

Inside five minutes, Achraf Hakimi was at full-stretch, blocking Mbappe’s attempt to sweep home after Griezmann had escaped in the right channel. Morocco could not clear the danger, though, and Theo Hernandez hooked home the loose ball. 

This duel only worked one way. Mbappe had no interest in tracking Hakimi when the Morocco right-back (he started as a wing-back), broke forward to support Hakim Ziyech. Not surprisingly — and this was an area that England also targeted in the quarter-final — Morocco had plenty of joy attacking down the French left as a result of Mbappe staying high.

In the other direction, Mbappe left Hakimi in his wake early in the second half, when the Morocco defender dived in rather recklessly, and it was a lovely piece of skill from the Frenchman that led to the clinching second goal. Hakimi was beaten initially and Mbappe then danced his way through the defence before Randal Kolo Muani converted from close range.

Hakimi and Mbappe were friends still at full-time, swapping shirts as they left the pitch.

Stuart James

(Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Morocco’s gamble backfired

“We will have to wait until the last minute, we always take decisions very late. No one is out right now, but no one is definitely fit.”

That was Walid Regragui, the Morocco coach, talking on the eve of this semi-final about the injury issues that, ultimately, caused his team so much upheaval in the opening 20 minutes. 

Regragui gambled, or at least a couple of his players did, and unfortunately for Morocco, it backfired. Nayef Aguerd, who had missed the quarter-final win over Portugal with a thigh injury, was named in the starting line-up here but then forced to pull out at the last minute. Jawad El Yamiq switched to the left of a back three and was exposed on the opening goal by Griezmann’s intelligent movement. 

A goal down and a starting centre-back light, Morocco soon lost another one in Romain Saiss.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender started the match with his left thigh strapped after going off early in the second half against Portugal and was clearly struggling before Olivier Giroud ran onto a ball over the top midway through the first half. Fortunately for Morocco, Giroud hit the post. But Saiss’ night was over there and then, leaving Morocco without their first-choice central defenders in the biggest match in the country’s history and forcing Regragui to revert to a back four.

Stuart James

French strength in depth

The usual suspects have tended to hog the limelight for France, but this was an occasion where those who have spent time on the fringes of Didier Deschamps’ squad seized a rare opportunity to impress.

Losing Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano, who would have started here had illness not struck them down, might have been disruptive, but step forward Youssouf Fofana and Ibrahima Konate to fill the breach. 

Those two are relative novices still at this level yet Konate, in only his sixth international appearance, was quick to boom a couple of early headers upfield to settle the nerves, then conjured one particularly timely interception as Selim Amallah threatened to send Youssef En-Nesyri clear. There was another excellent sliding challenge from the Liverpool centre-half that snuffed out the dangerous Hakimi’s cross before the break, and a magnificent intervention in the goalmouth early in the second half.

Fofana’s role was more industrious than eye-catching but, in turning to a player with only seven caps, Deschamps was pinning his hopes on the understanding the 23-year-old had built up with Aurelien Tchouameni — a player looking more assured with every appearance — during their time together at Monaco. The pair dovetailed relatively well with Fofana operating to Tchouameni’s left, one dropping in when the other ventured up-field. Familiarity worked in France’s favour.

A mention, too, for the scorer of the fastest goal in a semi-final of a World Cup since 1958.

Theo Hernandez had started the tournament as his big brother Lucas’ understudy, but has imposed himself in the games since replacing him in the opener against Australia because of injury.

His second international goal was well taken, but to cope on that flank with Mbappe offering precious little defensive cover is a feat in itself. France have needed him to excel, given their experiment with playing Eduardo Camavinga in that role in the final group match against Tunisia was hardly a success.

That said, Hernandez, Konate and Fofana have demonstrated there is greater quality in depth to Deschamps’ options than might originally have been thought. That reality was merely reinforced by Randal Kolo Muani scoring his first goal for France with virtually his first involvement late on.

There are options aplenty.

Dominic Fifield

Amrabat the Great

If there was one moment to sum up the remarkable, indefatigable Sofyan Amrabat at these finals, it came six minutes into the second half at Al Bayt. Mbappe had collected Konate’s block out on the left touchline halfway inside the French half, and looked up to survey the landscape. He waited for three opponents — Amrabat among them — to approach before firing up the turbo boost and searing off down the wing. There was a desperate sliding lunge from one panicked defender en route, but he missed the ball and Mbappe charged unchecked and alone deep into enemy territory.

Well, not quite alone.

Logic suggested that, with no rival able to keep up, the striker would have time to veer towards goal, but Amrabat was having none of that. The Fiorentina midfielder has only been featuring in Qatar thanks to pain-killing injections for back trouble, but he remains irrepressible. His pursuit of Mbappe might have been kickstarted from a different time zone, so far behind the forward was he at the outset, yet he strained every muscle in his aching body to reach his opponent and cut off the angle in-field.

The sprint was prolonged. It looked like agony.

But it ended with a leap and the kind of crunching right-footed challenge — winning the ball fairly, if catching his man slightly with the follow-through — near the far corner of the Morocco penalty area as satisfying as any of the mind-boggling flair and skill we have witnessed at these finals from attack-minded players. 

(Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Not content with leaving Mbappe in a heap — the striker had shot a little glance at the referee seeking a foul as he wailed in pain while in mid-air — Amrabat retrieved the ball before it dribbled behind for a corner, took three touches as he eased to the edge of the area and found a team-mate to kickstart another Moroccan foray up-field.

Then the 26-year-old, unfussed and unflustered, was off again in support. He has been a phenomenon at these finals.

Dominic Fifield

France’s fast start

A lack of goals in the early stages of games has been a trend we’ve seen across the whole tournament, and France have played their part in that. Before tonight’s semi-final, they hadn’t scored in the first 15 minutes of any match at this World Cup, with seven of their 11 goals coming in the final half-hour.

This time though, France made the quickest of starts with Theo Hernandez’s finish in the fifth minute. There is never a bad time to score, but such an early goal was particularly advantageous to France, given how Morocco thrive on their defensive discipline and ability to frustrate their opponents for long periods.

As The Athletic analysed in the game’s preview, a fast start was the order of the day against Morocco, given their depleted energy levels after two big upsets against Spain and Portugal in the first two knockout rounds.

In truth, the goal meant the game opened up and became more transitional than you would imagine compared with previous Moroccan encounters — arguably making for a better game overall.

Mark Carey

(Top photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)