Time: 12:30 AM (Thursday)
Teams: Morocco vs France
Stadium: Al Bayt Stadium
Head-To-Head:
Total matches: 11
Morocco won: 1
France won: 7
Drawn: 3
Read: First-timers captivated ahead of Messi's 'last dance'
Last matches: The rivalry goes back to 1963 when Morocco beat France 2-1 and drew three years later in 1966 at 2-2. Next year, they lost to France 0-2. In 1975, the lost again in the penalty shoot-out 1-3 after 1-1 draw. Both teams settled for a draw 0-0 in 1987 and next year in 1988 they lost to France 1-2. In 1988, they lost to France again 1-2 and 1996 saw no surprises as France beat them 1-0. In 1998, 99 and 2000, they were beaten by the French 5-6 on penalties after 2-2 draw, 0-1 and 1-5 respectively. Both team ended with a draw in 2007 with the score reading 2-2.
Players to watch out for
France: Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud
Morocco: Hakim Ziyech
Some food for thought:
-- Les Bleus will feature in their sixth semi-final while Morocco became the first semi-finalist from Africa this World Cup.
-- After defeating Portugal in the quarterfinals, Morocco became only the third country out of South America and Europe to qualify for the semis. USA did that in 1930, while Korea reached the semi-final stage in 2002.
-- France has been superb in their last six knockout games where they haven't lost a match. In the last 17, they have won 15 games.
-- On 13th July 1988, Brazil lost the World Cup to France 3-0. After that France, after reaching the semis this WC, are the only defending champions who have reached until the semifinals.
Preview:
Moroccan World Cup "dream" faces biggest test against France
Doha: Morocco's improbable, history-making run at the World Cup is about to get its ultimate test. Africa's first World Cup semifinalist is playing defending champion France and its star striker Kylian Mbapp, the leader of a new wave of soccer superstars coming out of an era dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Wednesday's match has cultural and political connotations Morocco was under French rule from 1912-1956 and the outcome is far from the foregone conclusion many would presume by looking at the names of the players and the rankings of the teams.
Morocco has exceeded all expectations in Qatar by beating second-ranked Belgium in the group stage and then eliminating European powerhouses Spain and Portugal in the knockout phase to reach the semifinals. No African or Arab nation has ever gotten this far. It is one of the biggest stories in the World Cup's 92-year history and Morocco is not done yet. "I was asked if we can win the World Cup and I said, Why not? We can dream, it doesn't cost you anything to have dreams,'" said Walid Regragui, Morocco's French-born coach.
"European countries are used to winning the World Cup and we have played top sides, we have not had an easy run. Anyone playing us is going to be afraid of us now. Even France? The defending champions have just passed their own big test by coming through a tough quarterfinal match against England, on a rare occasion when Mbapp was kept quiet.
No player has scored more than his five goals and it won't be easy for Mbapp to add to that tally against Morocco, which has yet to concede a goal to an opposition player at this World Cup or indeed in its nine games since Regragui was hired in August. The only goal allowed was an own-goal by its defender, Nayef Aguerd, against Canada in the group stage.
Morocco might have some injuries now Aguerd and fellow center back Romain Saiss could be missing Wednesday but Regragui's game plan relies on team shape and discipline more than any specific individual. "We recovered well. We have good doctors and every day we get good news. No one is ruled out and no one is for certain," Regragui told reporters on Tuesday. "We'll use the best team possible."
The Morocco coach said his team is ready to change the mentality" of Africa, and he's told his players not to settle for anything less than the top prize. "We're going to fight to move on, for the African nations, for the Arab world," he said. Regragui said defender Achraf Hakimi is looking forward to a "nice duel" with Mbapp, his teammate at Paris Saint-Germain, but added that France doesn't just depend on its star player.
"Well have to block Kylian, but not just him. Hakimi is super motivated to beat his friend," he said. The key to winning the game, he said, will be Morocco's "team spirit" and the support of the crowd at Al Bayt Stadium, where French President Emmanuel Macron is set to be in attendance along with tens of thousands of green-and-red-clad Morocco fans. It will feel like a home game for Morocco's players, which might level things up even more.
"We have the best fans in the world along with Argentines and Brazilians. They're people who come from anywhere in the world to support their country," Regragui said. "We're going to play like being at home and that's the most important thing in the world."
France starts as the big favorite, though, because of its star quality and experience. In Mbapp and Antoine Griezmann, a forward who has reinvented himself as a midfield playmaker at the World Cup, the team has two of the World Cup's leading players while Olivier Giroud's winner against England took him to four goals the same as Messi.
They have attacking threats from everywhere and that intangible quality of just knowing how to get the job done. France center back Raphael Varane said there will be no danger of complacency among his teammates in a gam against the world's No. 22-ranked team.
"We have enough experience in the team to not fall into that trap," he said. "We know Morocco isn't here by chance. It is up to us, as experienced players, to make sure we are all prepared for another battle."
