The final ticket to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is up for grabs between France and Morocco. The two teams have never played each other at the World Cup, with their first meeting coming in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals. Theo Hernández scored five minutes into the match and Randal Kolo Muani added a second in the 79th minute to give France a 2-0 win over Morocco and a chance to defend their title against Argentina.
France is one step away from defending its title
France has not lost in the World Cup or the UEFA Euro 4 since 1996, and is now looking to challenge a 60-year old record. According to historical statistics, France is the best team to play in the quarterfinals of an international tournament since the 21st century. The last time France lost in the quarterfinals of an international tournament was in 1996 against the Czech Republic in the UEFA Europa League, losing 5-6 in the PKs.
The loss was the last time France lost in the quarterfinals of an international tournament until this year’s World Cup. They defeated Croatia, Portugal, Belgium and Morocco in the 1998, 2006, 2018 and 2022 World Cup quarterfinals.
France has reached the championship this time, breaking the 24-year curse of the defending champions not reaching the final in alternate years. After Brazil in 1998, France became the second defending champion to make it to the final. As the defending champion, France will not only challenge for the third title in the history of the team, but also seek for the second consecutive championship. The challenge of becoming the first national team to defend the World Cup title in 60 years.
Looking back at the history of the World Cup, only Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962 have successfully defended their titles. With a win, France will become the third country to successfully challenge the record.
France scored a lightning goal just 5 minutes into the match
Facing the powerful French team, Morocco changed to a 5-back formation before the match, and sent 7 men to wrap up Kylian Mbappe, who has scored 5 goals this year, but the change didn’t work. This is also the first time Morocco is behind in this year’s tournament.
Before the end of three minutes of injury time in the first half, Morocco had two free kicks in a row, one was blocked and the other was too hard to strike, sending the two sides into the interval with a one-point gap.
This “lightning goal” also became the second fastest record in the history of the World Cup quarterfinals. The fastest record was held by Brazil in 1958, when it took only 2 minutes to break the net.
Morocco’s goal was broken again
In the second half, Morocco was still very aggressive in attack. But facing the French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who has accumulated 19 World Cup appearances in his career and tied the all-time record, there was not much chance. The French saw that they had a victory in hand and gradually replaced their main players, but Morocco couldn’t hold on to their chances either.
The French substitution came into play in the 79th minute. Forward Randal Kolo Muani scored his first international goal just 44 seconds after coming on as a substitute, the third fastest goal by a substitute in the history of world football. Thuram pushed the ball into the left box and gave it to Mbappé, who then pushed it forward and found Randal Kolo Muani, who had just come on. The match ended 2-0 in favor of France advanced to the championship.
France vs Morocco “Enemies on the field, friends off the field”
After the match, the Moroccan players were sad that they couldn’t win, and the French players came forward to offer encouragement and hugs. Mbappe saw Morocco’s youngster Achraf Hakimi in tears and came forward to support and hug him. The two of them immediately exchanged shirts naked. After all, it’s a great performance to make it to the World Cup and make it all the way to the quarterfinals.
Morocco is still proud of its defeat and has written 4 records
Morocco defeated the top European teams such as Belgium, Spain and Portugal in this year’s World Cup in order. Although it lost to France this time, it is already the dark horse of this year’s World Cup. Before the quarterfinals, the last six matches of the World Cup (including the last World Cup) had 3 wins and 3 draws without losing a single game, writing the longest unbeaten record in the history of African teams in the World Cup.
After the match, the whole team knelt down on the grass to thank all the fans in attendance. Despite this, they can still continue to push for the best result in the history of the team by competing for the third place on the 17th. Morocco’s amazing tour this year has set four records:
- First African team to reach a World Cup semi-final
- The first team to beat the best European teams in Belgium, Spain and Portugal in a row
- Finished top of the group despite being not favored
- No goals conceded in 4 games this year
Kylian Mbappe Challenges World Cup Goal Scoring Record
France’s Kylian Mbappe’s performances so far at the 2022 World Cup have repeatedly reminded fans that he could be the most successful player in the history of the World Cup. If France wins the tournament, he will join his teammates Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris, who have won the World Cup twice.
Mbappe has already won the trophy with France in the last World Cup 2018 in Russia. Mbappe scored 4 goals in the last World Cup and 5 in this World Cup, making a total of 9 goals in two World Cups. This way, Mbappe will have a chance to catch up with Brazil’s King Pele’s record of 3 titles. And Mbappe is still young, so he can still play two more World Cups.
The most goals in the history of the World Cup are scored by Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who scored 16 goals in the World Cup. Mbappe is still 7 goals away from catching Klose, but with his fierce firepower, it’s not impossible to break Klose’s record.
Both France and Argentina are seeking their third World Cup title in team history
France’s Kylian Mbappe will go head-to-head with Argentina’s legendary Lionel Messi in the World Cup championship match in Qatar, a match that will be awaited with great anticipation. The last time France and Argentina met in an international tournament was in the 2018 World Cup Round of 16, where France beat Argentina 4-3.
However, Argentina will not be underestimated this time, as they will not only want to avenge their loss 4 years ago, but also chase their 3rd title in the history of the team. More importantly, it will be a perfect ending to Lionel Messi’s “last dance”. France had won the World Cup in 1998 and 2018 respectively. If France wins again, they will become the first country to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil (1958 and 1962).
