16 December,2022 08:09 AM IST | Doha | Ashwin Ferro
Lionel Messi
France won 2-0 in the end, but not without the Moroccans winning the applause of the majority of the 68,294-strong audience, who kept blowing sharply at their whistles - and this was a lot more annoying than the vuvuzelas of 2010 that eventually got banned at many venues - each time their player touched the ball and jeering each time France had possession.
Morocco had conquered Belgium, Spain and Portugal before arriving here and where their defensive approach combined with sudden counters worked. However, against a world champion French side, Morocco coach Walid Regragui's nine-man defence - they played five deep defenders and four midfielders with one striker - didn't work.
In the fifth minute, French forward Kylian Mbappe had a shot on goal blocked only for teammate Theo Hernandez to neatly control an awkwardly-bouncing ball and put it into the back of the Moroccan net. Mbappe and fellow forward Ousmane Dembele time and again made sharp runs into the Moroccan box only to be denied by their gritty defence. Eventually though the North Africans caved in when another piercing Mbappe run saw him dodge by a host of defenders and execute a shot on goal only for a wicked deflection to fall into the path of substitute Randal Kolo Muani (79th minute) who tapped in within just 45 seconds of stepping in.
Morocco's Azzedine Ounahi and Hakim Ziyech made a few good runs while a stunning bicycle kick by Jawad El Yamiq (44th minute) got the hopes of the vociferous crowd sky high, but it wasn't to be as the French defence, led by the brilliance of Ibrahima (Ibou) Konate and despite the absence of the ailing Dayot Upamecanu and Adrien Rabiot, stood firm as France became the first reigning champs to reach the summit clash of the quadrennial showpiece since Brazil in 1998. France also became just the fifth defending champion side to return to the final in the subsequent edition, following Italy (1934-1938), Brazil (1958-1962), Argentina (1986-1990) and Brazil again (1994-1998). But up ahead is Argentina's Lionel Messi and French coach Didier Deschamps is fully aware how desperate the diminutive Argentine is to emulate the other God of football in his country - Diego Maradona who led them to the World Cup title in 1986. Interestingly Deschamps, only the fourth manager to lead his country to back-to-back World Cup finals, has successfully countered the Messi factor four years back (France beat Argentina 4-3 in the Round of 16), but that experience won't count in Sunday's final at the Lusail Stadium, he insisted. "Messi has been outstanding since the very beginning of this competition. But today's Argentina team is not the same that we played four years ago.
Also Read: FIFA World Cup 2022: Lionel Messi âassists' Argentina into final
"It was a different matter then. At that time, I had imagined the position Messi would play, and he ultimately played as the [lone] centre-forward against us. But now he is sharing the front line with a centre-forward [Julian Alvarez], so this gives him more freedom to dominate the ball, and make the most of his own skills. He's one of the best players of the world but our anti-Messi plan will consist of limiting his influence on the pitch for Argentina on Sunday," said Deschamps, as France bid to be the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup.
