FIFA World Cup: France book final against Argentina

Lionel Messi and co. await France at Lusail Stadium on Sunday night, although Morocco pressured the European team in a hard-fought semi-final.

Morocco were more than a match for France after Theo Hernandez fired the French into an early lead. However, Randal Kolo Muani equalised with his late goal.

There will be plenty of subplots on Sunday, most notably the duel between Messi and club teammate Kylian Mbappe. But on this night, Morocco proved that their surprising entry into the last four was no fluke, going head-to-head with the reigning world champions and even having a penalty appeal turned controversially turned down 26 minutes in.

It was one dream too many for the Moroccan players and their energetic coach Walid Regragui, who had already defeated Belgium, Spain and Portugal, ending the hopes of Eden Hazard, Sergio Busquets and Cristiano Ronaldo on their way to a historic semifinal.

Regragui wanted to reward the players who had won those victories, with Nayef Aguerd and captain Romain Saiss in the starting lineup despite their fitness being questionable.

That plan backfired even before kickoff. West Ham defender Aguerd, struggling with a thigh injury, was replaced by Achraf Dari after the warm-up.

The Moroccan fans filled the Al Khor night with noise and were still at a fever pitch when, less than five minutes into the game, Hernandez benefited from a fortunate rebound from an Mbappe shot off Dari and steered it past Yassine Bounou.

If Al-Bayt Stadium had a roof, it would have gone up if Hugo Lloris had not blocked an Azzedine Ounahi shot as Morocco fought back - a sign of things to come for only the third nation outside Europe and South America ever to get this far at a World Cup.

Olivier Giroud's sharp shot landed at the post, and Bounou was beaten. That was the end of the evening for Saiss, as the Moroccan captain was forced off after 21 minutes and replaced by midfielder Selim Amallah.

The Africans refused to be deterred and could have had a penalty when Sofiane Boufal clashed with Hernandez - but instead, the former Southampton winger was cautioned for his part in the foul play.

Mbappe moved past Achraf Hakimi but failed to hit the target with the resulting shot. Giroud missed a great chance to double the lead by firing the rebound into the net.

The post and Lloris' outstretched glove prevented Jawad El Yamiq from equalising with a superb overhead kick, so the tie remained balanced until halftime.

Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate were on hand to clear crosses, while Youssef En-Nesyri threatened to strike and France began to get frustrated.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Football means friendship 🤜🏻🤛🏻<br><br>Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi are two unbelievable players but also the best spot for the Beautiful Game.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Qatar2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Qatar2022</a> 🇫🇷✨🇲🇦 <a href="https://t.co/PJQXTuFxS1">pic.twitter.com/PJQXTuFxS1</a></p>&mdash; Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) <a href="https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1603176056122658817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Substitute Abderrazak Hamdallah should have fired earlier after entering the French penalty area, but he was pushed off as time began to run out.

The French hopes were soon dashed, however, when a deflected shot from Mbappe fell at the feet of Kolo Muani, who had put the ball in the net after coming on as a substitute for Ousmane Dembele just 44 seconds earlier.

Even then, Morocco did not concede defeat. Jules Kounde scraped a deflected shot from Ounahi off the line to seal Didier Deschamps' side's place in the final.