And then there were three, soon to be two.
You’re very welcome along to our coverage of the second World Cup semi-final between France and Morocco. The prize on offer is a date with Argentina in Sunday’s final. Will it be the reigning champions, or an impressive Morocco outfit who has conceded just once throughout this tournament?
France are certainly the favourites but how will they fare against a side who has already measured up against top international sides including Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal? We’ll find out later this evening, with kick-off getting underway at 7pm.
We’ll have team news for you shortly and, as always, we want to hear your thoughts on tonight’s game and who you think has the better chance of defeating Argentina in the final.
Here’s the France XI that is starting this evening
Didier Deschamps' 1⃣1⃣ for the 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗽 𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗶-𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 ⚔️
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) December 14, 2022
🇫🇷🇲🇦 | #FRAMAR | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/5rTSwZSxMg
And here is the Morocco side
🚨تشكيلة المنتخب الوطني أمام منتخب فرنسا
— Équipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) December 14, 2022
Atlas Lions Line-up for the Semi-Finals against France 🇫🇷#DimaMaghrib 🇲🇦 #TeamMorocco #FIFAWorldCup @pumafootball pic.twitter.com/WvUZLP83Cd
Before kick-off, here’s some pre-match reading from David Sneyd as he previews tonight’s battle.
Who do you think will win this semi-final?
Poll Results:
France v Morocco
Both sides are coming out onto the pitch now.
Kick-Off! France 0-0 Morocco
GOAL! France 1-0 Morocco (Theo Hernandez 5 mins)
10 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
What a start for the defending champions!
Antoine Griezmann engineered the move after making a break along the edge of the box. He cut the ball back in to Kylian Mbappé who appeared to mis-hit his attempt. The ball then spilled into the path of Theo Hernandez who leapt into the air and fired the ball into the net with an acrobatic finish.
Super goal!.
11 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Have a look at that terrific goal
🇫🇷 1-0 🇲🇦
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) December 14, 2022
Dream start for France as Theo Hernandez rifles home#FRAMAR
📺Watch live on @RTE2 & @RTEplayer - https://t.co/2W5kFtUOPc
📱 Live updates - https://t.co/Z8yTLknHT8 #RTEsoccer #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/gSgrTY9T23
13 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Brilliant response from Morocco as Azzedine Ounahi thunders a shot from the edge of the box that looked to be looping into the bottom corner. Credit to France keeper Lloris who lunged down to paw it away.
However, Morocco have struggled since then. France look very effective around the middle and are quick to pick Moroccan pockets when in possession.
19 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
POST!
Olivier Giroud tests out the strength of the Morocco goal with a blistering shot from the edge of the area after a super run through. He gives it plenty but the shot takes some paint off the woodwork as Giroud grabs his face in disbelief.
Earlier, there was another good probing attack from Morocco. They make a break through the middle to create an attack but the final ball dribbles away from Ziyech.
21 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Morocco are forced to make a change as their captain Romain Saiss makes way and looks to be struggling with an injury. Selim Amallah comes in to replace him.
23 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
The France forwards are working quite hard up front, putting their opponents under intense pressure when they’re not in possession.
28 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Yellow card for Morocco’s Sofiane Boufal for a tackle on Hernandez in the France penalty area. He went in with a bit of a slicing challenge that required some treatment for the French man.
29 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Great work from Giroud to stick his leg across and intercept the ball. France work the ball out wide and draw a free, which they use to spread the play backwards and slow the pace down.
30 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Morocco with some encouraging play around the France area that gets halted by the offside flag.
33 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Good defensive play from France as Konaté steps in to stop a pass to Youssef En-Nesyri that could have created a one-on-one scenario.
France work the ball up and create a chance that gets blocked away, while Hernandez goes down again after a boot landed on his foot mid-stride.
35 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Double chance for France!
Mbappé and Giroud both take a swipe but fail to get the net swishing. Mbappé was up first after cutting through to the Morocco penalty area but his shot was deflected away.
The rebound eventually comes to Giroud but his effort also came to nothing as it sailed wide.
39 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
France are utterly dominant as Griezmann comes across to take a corner. He swings it in to where Varane meets it in the air. He tries to sneak his shot in first time but it just sails wide.
45 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
POST!
Great chance for Morocco as El Yamiq tries to get the equaliser from a bicycle kick. But his attempt comes back off the woodwork.
The chance came from a corner which was taken by Ziyech. That’s another promising moment from Morocco and they’ll need more of those if they want to level this tie as half-time approaches.
Half-Time: France 1-0 Morocco
France 1-0 Morocco
France look to be firmly in the ascendancy at the break. Morocco have certainly had some chances, and that chance that came off the woodwork was a huge moment where they could levelled proceedings.
But, that aside, France are looking strong and zippy. Their forward play has been particularly impressive and their attacking players are showing brilliant workrate to put Morocco under pressure when they don’t have the ball.
Here’s that Moroccan effort that came back off the post
HT 🇫🇷 1-0 🇲🇦
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) December 14, 2022
Morocco trail at the break but they were so close to equalising through this brilliant El Yamiq effort#FRAMAR
📺Watch live on @RTE2 & @RTEplayer - https://t.co/2W5kFubRRc
📱 Live updates - https://t.co/Z8yTLk5yF0 #RTEsoccer #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Sd7DhtmIxf
Second-Half: France 1-0 Morocco
49 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Great run from Mbappé along the wing before darting inside to cut the ball across the box. It comes to Koude who tries one from distance, but the keeper is equal to the shot.
France come charging forward again from the next attack and Griezmann tries to link up with Mbappé who tries to slip in behind the cover. He goes down as he tries to get on the end of the pass and waves for a penalty call but the referee is not interested.
52 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Crunching tackle on Mbappé just outside the Morocco penalty area and he’s down receiving treatment for it. The referee, however, doesn’t award a free-kick and VAR has no jurisdiction on events outside the penalty box.
54 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
MOROCCO CHANCE!
Two opportunities for Morocco there as Yahia Attiyat Allah completely mis-hits the ball after possession spilled to him in the box. Konate and Varane deserve a lot of credit for their defensive interventions there. Morocco get another go at it but nothing comes of it.
58 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Mbappé seems to have recovered from that tackle and jogs over to get help with his boots as he seems to be having bother with the laces.
59 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
More tantalising attack play from France. Mbappé and Griezmann combine to create an opportunity that gets deflected wide but the linesman’s flag is up anyway.
When they cut loose like this, the champions are irresistible.
61 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
🇫🇷 1-0 🇲🇦
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) December 14, 2022
Morocco are pushing, and Konate has to be sharp to snuff out a dangerous cross.#FRAMAR
📺Watch live on @RTE2 & @RTEplayer - https://t.co/2W5kFtUOPc
📱 Live updates - https://t.co/Z8yTLknHT8 #RTEsoccer #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/dR5aMpqKi7
63 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Varane leaps up to head away an attempted cross in from Ziyech. He’s been immense in the French defense all evening.
65 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Marcus Thuram comes in to replace Giroud for France while Morocco are also making some changes. Abderrazak Hamdallah comes on for Youssef En-Nesyri Zakaria while Aboukhlal comes in for Sofiane Boufal.
68 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Griezmann floats the ball in from a free-kick but Morocco deal with the pressure and clear the danger. France come back at them again but they can’t penetrate.
72 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Another threatening free-kick from Griezmann. The ball finds the head of Thuram but he can’t direct his header on target. Huge chance there to double their lead and put more distance between the sides.
73 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Wasteful effort from Fofana and that’s another opportunity for France which they fail to convert. They look to be in control but if they keep squandering chances, it always gives Morocco the chance to pounce and equalise.
78 mins: France 1-0 Morocco
Hamdallah the latest to try and level the game for Morocco. He swivels over and back before releasing his shot but it was always swinging into the side netting.
GOAL! France 2-0 Morocco (Muani 79 mins)
82 mins: France 2-0 Morocco
And that, you feel, should be that. Randal Kolo Muani taps the ball into an empty net with his first touch after being introduced. Again, Mbappé plays a big part in creating the chance and links up with Fofane before the ball is slipped across to Muani for the easy finish.
🇫🇷 2-0 🇲🇦
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) December 14, 2022
Randal Kolo Muani, only on the field as a sub, puts France 2-0 up and they are surely heading for the final#FRAMAR
📺Watch live on @RTE2 & @RTEplayer - https://t.co/2W5kFtUOPc
📱 Live updates - https://t.co/Z8yTLknHT8 #RTEsoccer #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/omRzCvBAnX
85 mins: France 2-0 Morocco
Barring a miracle, we are just winding on towards the inevitable. France will be happy to just stroll to the final whistle and get ready for Sunday.
90 mins: France 2-0 Morocco
Morocco are having no luck. Aboukhlal gets a shot off that Lloris manages to gather. And the flag goes up regardless.
Mbappé still looking sprightly on the other end. He evades a defender with a lovely flick and goes surging forward, only to run out of steam and lose possession.
94 mins: France 2-0 Morocco
HOW DID FRANCE KEEP THAT OUT?
That’s a combination of serious defending from France, and more bad luck for Morocco.
Full-Time! France 2-0 Morocco
France 2-0 Morocco
Heartbreak for Morocco, who bow out at the semi-final stage and will face Croatia in the third-place play-off after an inspiring campaign.
For the holders France, they will progress to the final and put their crown on the line against Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Didier Deschamps’ team were unstoppable at times tonight, producing a performance that was punctuated by super displays by Griezmann, Mbappé and defenders Varane and Konaté.
France 2-0 Morocco
Well that’s all from us, folks. Stick around for our match report which is coming live from the laptop of Gavin Cooney.
Until next time, bye bye!
