France recorded a 2-0 victory over Morocco
As France prepared to face Morocco in the 2022 World Cup semi-final, coach Didier Deschamps said that his team would not be facing a purely defensive opponent. He shows respect for his opponent, and France’s way of getting into the World Cup 2022 semi-finals also shows this. In the opening minutes, France took their time getting the ball going and ended up having to dig deep to defend against Morocco’s aggressive press. But France has shown the dangerous side that helped them win the 2018 World Cup. They have been able to break through the defense of Morocco after only a few touches of the ball.
Morocco didn’t try to hide the fact that it wanted to play defense by setting up a 4-5-1 with only El Nesyri up top. But Walid Regragui’s plan soon fell apart in front of the power of the defending champion.
After only 5 minutes, France scored the first goal. Antoine Griezmann received the ball under his armpit from Raphael Varane, spun to his right, and delivered it to Kylian Mbappe. Even though the 1998-born attacker couldn’t convert, the ball made it to Theo Hernandez in the end. The Milan defender hit a beautiful shot that beat Yassine Bono from close range.
The North African team was almost stuck because the French defense was so tight. Even worse, Saiss was hurt and forced to leave the field after just 20 minutes, before he had predicted a high ball, but luckily for Morocco, Giroud struck the post.
Giroud had a second chance to score in the 36th minute when France counterattacked and Mbappe faced the goalkeeper. Mbappe couldn’t take advantage of the situation, even though the Moroccan defense was almost unable to stop it. At this point, Morocco got back on its feet when they focused on hitting Theo Hernandez right where he was scoring and kept getting free kicks and entering the penalty area from the right.
In the 45th minute, El Yamiq hit the French post with a kick during a corner. Unfortunately for Morocco, no one was there to kick back when the ball came back. France had a comfortable lead going into halftime.
In the second half, France let Morocco attack. They moved back to defend, closed off the two sides, and then went on the attack as soon as they got the ball back. Morocco kept pushing and had phases down the border with Hakim Ziyech, Sofiane Boufal, or Achraf Hakimi, but the African representative didn’t make clear opportunities.
On the other hand, France played a fairly sharp counterattack. In the 69th minute, Kunde made space on the right wing for Mbappe to drop down into. France’s No. 10 tried to trick the defender of the other team by making a fake move, and then he tried to score with his left foot but missed. Griezmann passed the ball to Marcus Thuram two minutes later, and Thuram headed it off the post.
Again, France’s shrewdness in the 80th minute caused Morocco’s defense to crack. Youssouf Fofana kept the ball in the middle for a while and then gave it to Mbappe. After Thuram and Mbappe did a one-touch smash, Mbappe got through but couldn’t finish. Luckily, Kolo Muani was there at the right time to buffer the ball close to the wall and make it 2-0.
Didier Deschamps breaks his own record
Didier Deschamps is only the fourth coach in history to take a team to two consecutive World Cup finals. He helped France compete with Argentina for the title.
With Italy in 1934 and 1938, Carlos Bilardo in 1986 and 1990, and Franz Beckenbauer in 1986 and 1990 with Germany, Didier Deschamps led France to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals, making him the fourth coach to do so.
If France wins the World Cup in Qatar, Deschamps will be the second coach in history, after Pozzo, to lead a team to two titles. The 54-year-old coach will also be the third person in history, after Pele and Mario Zagallo, to win three World Cups as a player or coach.
“This victory isn’t easy,” Deschamps said after the match. “But we always seem to get lucky. The French players also like the results of working together. We are emotional and proud as we get ready to play the game for the world title.”
On the evening of December 14, French President Emmanuel Macron was also at Al Bayt Stadium to cheer on the team. After the match, he gave Deschamps high marks, saying, “Sincere thanks to coach Deschamps and the players for making France happy. The current team is a great mix of young and old players. France will win the cup again, and it’s clear that Deschamps needs to keep his job. I’m very happy with how the French team did.”
Deschamps was a defensive midfielder who was known for his ability to get the ball back and start attacks when he was playing. Eric Cantona called Deschamps “the water carrier”. He was captain of France when they won the World Cup in 1998 and the Euro 2000. At the club level, Deschamps won the Champions League with Marseille in 1993. This was the only C1 title won by a French team in the history of football. He won the Champions League with Juventus in 1996 and finished second with Valencia in 2001.
In 2001, Deschamps ended his career and became the manager of Monaco. He helped this club get to the 2004 Champions League final, but they lost to Jose Mourinho’s Porto. Deschamps took over as coach of Juventus in Serie B for the 2006-2007 season and helped the team get promoted right away before he left. He also helped Marseille win Ligue 1 in 2010, and then he helped France win the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 UEFA Nations League.