Heartbreak for the Atlas Lions as Les Bleus find a way to win. Again.
World Cup Diaries: Day 24.
World Cup Diaries: Day 24.
14th December 2022
FRANCE 2 (Hernandez 5, Muani 79)
MOROCCO 0
Football can be such a cruel mistress to please at times. Down by an early goal, your injury plagued captain Romain Saiss forced off after just 20 minutes and your other two major injury doubts succumbing to half-time substitutions, the “Atlas Lions” of Morocco still arguably shaded a first half they were losing and very definitely dominated a second half that ultimately saw them to a full-time defeat full of excruciating heartbreak. The middle third of this evening’s game saw a French team full of stars and, perhaps crucially, defending World Cup champions, rocking, ragged and more than a little desperate. They were roundly second best all over the pitch and, in more than an eerie call back to their quarter-final defeat of England, scored their second goal out of nothing to seal another unconvincing, but World Cup semi-final win.
Not that this matters a jot to their manager Didier Deschamps, but their victory this evening was an almost exact replica of their triumph over the “Three Lions” four evenings ago. Largely outplayed (but more than happy to soak up the pressure defending a lead), Kylian Mbappe barely figured (aside from some ridiculously explosive runs, theatrical flounces to the floor AND some roughhouse punishment too!), Olivier Giroud was anonymous and whilst Aurelien Tchouameni was impressive yet again in the centre of midfield, Les Bleus best defender (and outstanding “Man of the Match”) was Antoine Griezmann. Against England he was France’s orchestral conductor. This evening he was a one man band in yet another incredible performance.
Here are the negatives before the major positives for the heroes in defeat from Morocco: they allowed Griezmann to get in behind them far too easily for the game’s first goal, they gave away the ball on the halfway line for the second goal (despite their overall dominance Morocco gave the ball away far too easily, especially in the first half) and again despite their dominance, Morocco failed to really attack and pressurise the French central defensive pairing of Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate. The Manchester United and Liverpool pairing were barely threatened, troubled or pulled apart to create a central attacking lane. Each mistake was excusable (eagerness and tiredness) and each mistake led to a scruffy goal they could have defended better and, on another evening, they may also have had that dash of luck running cover for their high pressure mistakes.
Roared on yet again by an almost entire partisan crowd save for a small enclave of France supporters behind one goal, Morocco were otherwise excellent. The obvious ploy was to attack France’s number 22 Theo Hernandez who despite my pre-game labelling of him as a “mistake waiting to happen”, went and scored the game’s opening goal on 5 minutes! But Hernandez was dreadful against England, giving away a needless penalty, forever chasing his tail and looking decidedly out of place, and Morocco manager Walid Regragui clearly wanted his main men Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi to attack the young French defender. Which they did time and again in typically outstanding individual performances. Selim Amallah replaced his stricken skipper with a wholehearted substitute appearance and alongside the team’s outstanding player of the tournament, Sofyan Amrabat, they both patrolled the “box to box” area of the pitch magnificently. Amallah had put so much into his substitute appearance he had to be substituted himself late on and Amrabat’s chase and crunching tackle of Kylian Mbappe on 50 minutes typified not only his performance but of the team in red, green and white around him.
Azzedine Ounahi didn’t deserve to lose a World Cup semi-final this evening, but football can be a cruel mistress to please at times. The 22 year old from Casablanca covered “every blade of grass” in that footballing cliché of yore and like teammate Sofyan Amrabat has earned his shot at the biggest games on the domestic football stage. Moves must be afoot for them both in the near future. If only central defender Jawad El Yamiq’s incredible bicycle kick right on the cusp of half-time had gone in, rather than crashing into a post and away to safety.
1–1 at half-time? Different game maybe?
Alas, football can be a cruel mistress to please at times.
Thanks for the memories Morocco. I was cheering for you this evening and, much to the consternation of my son who wondered what the fuss was all about, I was screaming for that bicycle kick to go in. So too the goal line clearance in injury time as your spirit simply refused to stop trying.
Bless you Morocco, and thanks for the memories.
So now to the pointless 3rd Place Play-Off on Saturday which we’ll skip over, and the final itself on Sunday. I won’t steal my own thunder and any percolating ideas I may or may not have for a pre-Final article or three, but it’s quite the final to look forward to. The defending champions from Europe against the Copa America champions from South America. Kylian Mbappe versus Lionel Messi perhaps, or Antoine Griezmann and Aurelien Tchouameni versus Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul. Two rugged, physical teams who enjoy the footballing battle as well as dictating the footballing artistry on display.
Defending champions versus desperate wanna be new champions?
With the sad departure of Morocco, I’m expecting the tickets their hordes of noisy singing fans will be snapped up by those equally football crazy Argentinians, turning Sunday’s final into a raucous cacophony fit for a home game in Buenos Aires.
And I’m kind of hoping a certain Lionel Messi leads his team to their third World Cup triumph.
Time will tell.
It always does.
Thanks for reading. In addition to the delights that can be found within the cave of wonders that is my archives, I’m penning a day to day diary of the World Cup, and here are days 21 through 23:
Messi leads Albicelestes into another World Cup Final
World Cup Diaries: Day 23.medium.com
“The Dark Arts” and other tall tales from the World Cup
World Cup Diaries: Day 22.medium.com
England are coming home as Morocco shock the world. Again!
World Cup Diaries: Day 21.medium.com