JAKARTA - The French national team will face Morocco in the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup. The two teams will meet at Al Bayt Stadium, Qatar, Thursday, December 15 in the morning WIB.
France is clearly the favorite. However, Morocco cannot be underestimated.
The African team has made up a beautiful fairy tale so far. Morocco became the first African team to qualify for the World Cup semifinals after eliminating giant teams such as Belgium, Spain, and Portugal.
However, Morocco should not be happy. The Mbappe could be a scourge considering that he is the most deadly factor in the French squad.
Interestingly, Morocco coach Walid Regragui did not prepare a specific plan to get rid of the dangers that arise from the Paris Saint Germain striker.
"I will not try to design any specific tactical plans to tackle Kylian," Regragui said.
"France also has other good players. (Antoine) Griezmann is at the top of his game and plays very well as a liaison between lines. Ousmane Dembele is also a perfect complement to Mbappe on the other wing."
"If they only focus on Mbappe, then that's a big mistake. They are world champions, with world-class players and they will play with everything they have. We just need to focus on what we can do to cause problems with France," added Regragui again.
๐ทุตูุฑ ุงูุญุตุฉ ุงูุชุฏุฑูุจูุฉ ุงูุฃุฎูุฑุฉ ููู ูุชุฎุจ ุงููุทูู ูุจู ููุงุก ุงูุบุฏ ุฃู ุงู ู ูุชุฎุจ ูุฑูุณุง Pictures of todayโs training session before facing France ๐ซ๐ท#DimaMaghrib ๐ฒ๐ฆ #TeamMorocco #FIFAWorldCup @pumafootball pic.twitter.com/6PKiHXzUOT
โ รquipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) December 13, 2022
Morocco is believed to be getting the full support at the Al Bayt Stadium they need to continue their journey like their fairy tale. The North African team has received great support from Arab audiences since the group phase.
"We are now a team that everyone likes because we have proven that even if we don't have a lot of talent and money, we can succeed," said Walid Regragui.
France will enter the arena while respecting its opponent who is the killer of the giants. They will also compete under the eyes of the audience who will support Morocco more.
"They will benefit from huge support, I have witnessed this. We know this will be a very noisy match and we have to be ready to face it," said French coach Didier Deschamps.
This match is also a battle between two friends who both play in Paris St Germain, namely Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi.
Britain successfully tamed Mbappe by doubling the power in the left sector of the field. Morocco may do the same, but this will reduce Hakimi and Hakim Ziyech's explosive power if they are busy trying to tame Mbappe.
"At this level the estuary is always about details," said Deschamps. "The quality alone is not enough, but in this squad there is also mental strength and a little experience."
Morocco itself will appear burdenless because winning or losing they are considered heroes everywhere, especially in their country.
On the other hand, France is carrying a burden to become the first country after Brazil 60 years ago to successfully defend the World Cup.
France will play in the ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ-๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ of the ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฝ for the 7๏ธโฃth time in their history ๐ฅIt's the first time the defending champions have reached this stage of the tournament since Brazil in 1998 ๐#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/PskO96FIIe
โ French Team โญโญ (@FrenchTeam) December 13, 2022
Hugo Lloris will keep the French goal, especially when he looks charming against England. He will be protected by centre-back duo Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate who seem to have been chosen as starters rather than Dayot Upamecano who was determined in the match against England.
Jules Kunde was shifted to the right to be right-back across from Theo Hernandez who occupies the left side of the defense.
Coach Didier Deschamps also returned to pairing Aurelieen Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot on the playing axis in midfield.
They tried to ensure Morocco did not have much fun in France's first-third of the playing area and also provided maneuverable space to the two wingers Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.
In addition, they are trying to become ball suppliers for Antoine Griezmann who is in the middle of Mbappe and Dembele, just ahead of the spearhead of Olivier Giroud who impressed in the quarter-finals against England.
This attacking quartet will appear more fierce in terrorizing the Morocco meeting defense which relies on counterattacks in the 4-3-3 formation.
But Morocco was forced to appear without a number of the most important players such as Walid Cheddira who was rewarded with a red card against Portugal, while captain Romain Saiss and centre-back Nayef Aguerd may have been sidelined due to injury.
Beyond the three players, the Morocco squad is ready to challenge France where Yassine Bounou, who is reportedly targeted by Manchester United, is again installed in front of goal to prepare to return to show his fantastic performance.
Given that Aguerd and Saiss may miss this match, Bounou will be protected by centre-back duo Achraf Dari and Jawad El Yamiq.
Meanwhile, Achraf Hakimi again perfected Morocco's defense by occupying the right wing of the defense opposite Yahya Attiat-Allah as left-back.
They could be part of the instrumental section in controlling the movement of the deadly duo Mbappe and Dembele on both wings of the French attack.
To match France's dominance in midfield, Morocco installed Azzedine Ounahi in a three-fielder formation alongside Sofyan Amrabat and Seim Amalah.
Meanwhile, in the final third, their field will be filled with Youssef En-Nesyri as the center striker flanked by Hakim Ziyech and Sofiane Boufal who operate more broadly on both wings of attack.
Prior to this France and Morocco had met five times in official international matches. First in 1988 which France won 2-1. They then played friendly matches in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. France has never lost in an official match against Morocco. The last they drew 2-2 in Paris in 2007.
Kylian Mbappe scored five goals from five games to surpass his tally during his 2018 World Cup appearances when France won. At the age of 23, Mbappe has scored nine World Cup goals from 12 appearances.
Morocco became the first Arab and African countries to reach the semifinals of the World Cup. Coach Walidragui became the first Arab manager to pass a team into the knockout phase.
France is the first defending champion to reach the semifinals of the World Cup since Brazil in 1998. They will try twice in a row to become World Cup finalists since Brazil in 2002. Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) won the World Cup twice in a row.
Morocco's goal has not been scored once during this World Cup. They only conceded a goal from their own players when they won 2-1 over Canada where their defender, Nayef Aguerd, accidentally scored the ball into their own net.
Predictions of the French vs Morocco line-up:
France (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Jules Kunde, Raphael Varane, Ibrahima Konate, Theo Hernandez; Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe; Olivier Giroud
Morocco (4-3-3): Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Jawad Yamiq, Achraf Dari, Yahia Attiat-Allah; Azzedine Ounahi, Sofyan Amrabat, Selim Amalah; Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, Sofiane Boufal
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