3️⃣POINTS AS FRANCE OVERCOME MOROCCO

 THREE POINTS FROM FRANCE 2-0 MOROCCO

WHAT WE LEARNT AS FRANCE JUST ABOUT SCRAPED PAST MOROCCO IN THE SECOND WORLD CUP 2022 SEMI-FINAL

-Mitansh Kagalwala

Photo Via: Hindustan Times


 

1.       The Kylian Mbappe Show: There was a moment in the semi-final when Kylian Mbappe received the ball near the sideline. The Frenchman waited, baited the Moroccan defenders, set himself, and then knocked the ball forward and ran. He got past three defenders in a dazzling show of pace on his way to the touchline, but his cross could not reach a French head. In a split second, Mbappe had dragged the entire French side from their own half to Morocco’s area, the perfect display of the threat he possesses. If 2018 was Mbappe’s emergence, then this World Cup is his coming of age. Tied at the top of the goalscoring charts with Lionel Messi, Mbappe is a man on a mission, looking to banish the ghosts of the Euro 2020 penalty shootout, and see his country to a first successful defence of a World Cup title in 60 years.

2.       What Could Have Been: Just before half-time, a Moroccan corner looped up in the French box. Centre-back Jawad El Yamiq rose to meet it with a stunning overhead kick, which required a glance off Hugo Lloris’ fingertips to crash out against the post. Into the second half, and Ibrahima Konate was called to make a last-ditch interception. Abde Ezzalzouli’s wavy run broke through the French defence, leading to a bit of ping-pong ball in the box, before Jules Kounde cleared off the line. The Moroccans showed us a completely different side, an attacking, free-flowing side, that broke the French lines several times. It was a matter of inches several times for the Atlas Lions, but come the end, they still hadn’t troubled their scoreboard operator. Such is football, but you can’t help but wonder what could have been.

3.       Morocco- Beyond All Expectations: There will not be a single Moroccan out there who is disappointed by the Atlas Lions’ performance. First, beyond some doubt, they made it out of the Group of Death, eliminating Belgium and relegating Croatia to second place in the process. Then, they held firm against Spain, winning after some excellent penalties, leading to rapturous celebrations on the streets of Rabat, with even the King of Morocco joining in. They stood tall against everything Portugal threw at them, stopping a wealth of attacking talent from scoring, that too without some of their key defenders in Romain Saiss and Nayef Aguerd. And they put up a hell of a fight against France, but just fell short of a historic final. Nevertheless, they became the first African team to ever reach a World Cup semi-final, and no one can say they didn’t deserve to be there.  

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