FIFA World Cup 2022: After Morocco, anti-Messi time!

It was touted to be a clash between a worldclass side and one with pure heart and it sure turned out that way when France clashed with underdogs Morocco in the second semifinal at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday nightFrance won 20 in the end but not without the Moroccans winning the applause of the majority of the 68294strong audience who kept blowing sharply at their whistlesmdashand this was a lot more annoying than the vuvuzelas of 2010 that eventually got banned at many venuesmdasheach time their player touched the ball and jeering each time France had possessionMorocco 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 Regraguirsquos nineman defencemdashthey played five deep defenders and four midfielders with one strikermdashdidnrsquot workFrench players celebrate a goal against Morocco on Wednesday PicsGetty ImagesIn the fifth minute French forward Kylian Mbappe had a shot on goal blocked only for teammate Theo Hernandez to neatly control an awkwardlybouncing 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 inFrench defence stands tallMoroccorsquos 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 wasnrsquot 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 19341938 Brazil 19581962 Argentina 19861990 and Brazil again 19941998 But up ahead is Argentinarsquos 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 countrymdashDiego Maradona who led them to the World Cup title in 1986 Interestingly Deschamps only the fourth manager to lead his country to backtoback World Cup finals has successfully countered the Messi factor four years back France beat Argentina 43 in the Round of 16 but that experience wonrsquot count in Sundayrsquos final at the Lusail Stadium he insisted ldquoMessi has been outstanding since the very beginning of this competition But todayrsquos Argentina team is not the same that we played four years agoAlso ReadFIFA World Cup 2022 Lionel Messi lsquoassistsrsquo Argentina into finalDidier DeschampsFour years agoldquoIt was a different matter then At that time I had imagined the position Messi would play and he ultimately played as the lone centreforward against us But now he is sharing the front line with a centreforward Julian Alvarez so this gives him more freedom to dominate the ball and make the most of his own skills Hersquos one of the best players of the world but our antiMessi plan will consist of limiting his influence on the pitch for Argentina on Sundayrdquo said Deschamps as France bid to be the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup