FIFA World Cup: Live score - France vs Morocco, Preview and prediction

France won a tight match 2-1 against England on Saturday to continue their World Cup defence. Aurelien Tchouameni's early long-range shot gave them a merited half-time lead, but they were mainly outplayed in the second half, with Harry Kane's penalty evening things up.

It was almost against the run of play when Olivier Giroud converted Antoine Griezmann's pinpoint cross to restore France's lead, and things could have gone much differently if Kane hadn't blazed a second late penalty over the bar, leaving the French to celebrate and the English to lament what could have been.

Morocco certainly did not read the tournament script, and they are suddenly recognised as potential World Cup contenders. 

Portugal did not learn from the Moroccans' previous round victory against Spain and were found wanting against a well-organised defence that was swiftly able to transition into lightning counterattacks. 

Just before half-time, Youssef En-Nesyri popped up with a thunderous header. Morocco then stubbornly resisted everything Portugal threw at them to become the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

Morocco have the most outstanding defensive record in the World Cup so far, conceding just one goal in five games. 

Les Bleus have gone six games without a clean sheet in all competitions. So far, Didier Deschamps' team have scored 11 goals.

Morocco began as an underdog, but that did not deter them when they defeated favourites Belgium, Spain, and Portugal. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mbappé and Griezmann have played in EVERY FIFA World Cup Game for France since 2018 🤯<br><br>Will they make it to the Final and play in a 14th-straight game? 🇫🇷 <a href="https://t.co/yBwoNXeXLf">pic.twitter.com/yBwoNXeXLf</a></p>&mdash; FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1602868482038636544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

France have the talent to break down any defence, but they will have to be at their best against the Moroccan team that have only conceded one goal in Qatar, an own goal in a 2-1 group-stage win against Canada. 

That defence could face its toughest test yet, with Kylian Mbappe eager to impress after a relatively subdued performance against England and Griezmann pulling the creative strings from his roaming number-10 role between the lines. 

Morocco have yet to concede a goal in the knockout stages in Qatar, so an early French goal could necessitate a new strategy. Whether they are up to it remains to be seen.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Morocco entered the World Cup FIFA&#39;s 22nd-ranked team. <br><br>Their route to the semifinals: <br><br>▪️ Beat No. 2-ranked Belgium <br>▪️ Beat No. 7-ranked Spain <br>▪️ Beat No. 9-ranked Portugal <br>▪️ Conceded one goal in five games...an own-goal against Canada <br><br>😤 <a href="https://t.co/UeNVpFXqEL">pic.twitter.com/UeNVpFXqEL</a></p>&mdash; B/R Football (@brfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/1601948227925843968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Predicted team Line-up

Morocco: Bono, Hakimi, El Yamiq, Aguerd, Mazraoui, Ounahi, Amrabat, Amallah, Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal.

France: Lloris, Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud.

Prediction: France have an edge and experience on the big stage to win this one.

Where to Watch

Indian football fans can watch the FIFA World Cup QF SF1 match on TV on Sports18 and Sports18 HD channels. Meanwhile, the live streaming will be available on the Jio Cinema app or website.