France secured their place in the 2022 World Cup final with a tough win against Morocco tonight.
Goals from Theo Hernández and Kolo Muani were enough to see the reigning champions through in a match in which Morocco played its part to a large extent.
France ran the blocks and opened the scoring after just five minutes through Hernández’s impromptu finisher.
Morocco got into the game and caused trouble for the French before substitute Muani scored just seconds after coming on for Ousmane Dembele in the last 10 minutes.
The African team huffed and puffed between the two goals, but couldn’t find the finishing touches their fine play deserved. However, they will leave the competition with their heads held high, after an outstanding tournament.
Manchester United transfer target Kylian Mbappe did not have his best game of the tournament, but he still had a huge impact on the result, playing a role in both goals.
The first goal came after Mbappé took a couple of bites from Antoine Griezmann’s rebound, before the ball fell into the path of left-back Hernández, for him to connect the shot into the box.
Despite remaining an obvious threat on the counter-attack, Mbappé was relatively calm for the next 75 minutes before coming to life to create the second.
Twisting and dodging three Moroccan defenders, PSG’s effort found its way to the far post via a deflection to fall generously on Muani, who couldn’t miss from two yards out.
United defender Raphael Varane also completed the full 90 minutes, defending his box well as Morocco pressed for an equalizer and had the French pinned down for much of the game.
Varane has already returned to being in top form for his team, which feared the worst for the center-back after the injury suffered at Stamford Bridge in October.
Deschamps has eased Varane’s entry into the tournament and he will need him at his best if the French are to retain their crown at the weekend.
France’s victory sets up the most delicious final against Argentina on Sunday. Mbappe vs Messi and plenty of subplots, get ready for what will be a memorable finish in Qatar.
