December 14, (THEWILL) –Morocco’s fairytale run at Qatar came to an end as Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani scored for France in their 2-0 victory over Africa’s last representatives on Wednesday to advance to the World Cup final against Argentina.
After another strong showing at the Al Bayt Stadium, Didier Deschamps’ team became the first defending champions since Brazil in 1998 to advance to the final.
In the fifth minute, Hernandez scored as France quickly took the lead against Africa’s first World Cup semi-finalists, even though Morocco had been in control for the majority of the first minutes of the match.
As the ball possession statistics displayed, Morocco piled pressure on the defending champions as the game progressed but they could not get beyond Hugo Lloris in the French goal. Then, Kolo Muani came off the bench to double the French advantage in the 79th minute with his first touch to ensure that France’s quest to become just the third team to successfully defend its world cup title would continue into Sunday against Argentina.
Meanwhile, Morocco can hold their heads with some sense of pride as they held their own and could have found a goal but it was not their day. They will still have a chance to not leave Qatar empty-handed when they take on Croatia in the third-place match on Saturday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
