Throughout the entire 2022 World Cup, Morocco was the team that refused to give up.
Any team that went up against Morocco thus far into the tournament was unable to score, the only goal the African team conceded being an own goal against Canada.
But five minutes into playing against France and Morocco conceded their first goal to another team in the 2022 World Cup. Theo Hernández put France ahead, netting Kylian Mbappé’s blocked shot to secure an early goal.
Throughout the remaining 85 minutes of the semifinal, Morocco was in uncharted territory—chasing a win from behind with everything on the line.
The first half ended with multiple opportunities from both teams to score, with Morocco coming close to leveling the match toward the final minutes off a spectacular effort by El Yamiq.
However, France still went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Booking the ticket
Morocco opened the second half with several more opportunities to score once again, pressing hard against the Frenchmen. However, France kept the African team at bay, tightening up their defenses and creating a number of opportunities themselves.
On the other side of the pitch, Morocco too held France from scoring and widening their lead. Despite several shots on target, the same Moroccan defense that kept all their previous opponents from scoring came to life.
It was through their relentless defense that Morocco was able to become the first-ever African semifinalist of the World Cup. Unfortunately, however, their fairytale run now comes to an end.
Mbappé finally found a way to crack through, navigating past Morocco’s defenses to hand Kolo Muani an open shot to bring France to a 2-0 lead—quite a way to score your first goal for your country.
And it was the final goal of the match.
Morocco, arguably the most resilient team in the tournament, now bow out of the World Cup, while France sits at the precipice of greatness.
With the victory, France will be heading back to the Finals four years after they last lifted the World Cup trophy. Should they take it all the way, they would become the first team to win back-to-back titles in the competition in 60 years.
But, they will have Argentina to face, a team battling to write history for themselves just the same.
The 2022 World Cup Final is set: Argentina vs. France. Who will lift the trophy?
Banner image from French Team on Twitter.