Shaken, appeared blunt but resistant, France dismissed the amazing Morocco (2-0) and its burning supporters on Wednesday to offer themselves a second final in a row in a World Cup, a precious rarity that will have to be improved on Sunday. against Lionel Messi's Argentina.
Arrived on one leg in Qatar and diminished by packages, the French overcame a new ordeal, further pushing back the curse of the defending champions with a resilience and collective strength that few would have lent to them.
To the delight of supporters in France!
Throwback to this evening in pictures.
Directed by:
Olivier JUSZCZAK
Kylian Mbappé's France, defending champion, and Morocco, carried by a continent and a red tide of supporters, played their semi-final on Wednesday.
In the very noisy atmosphere of the al-Bayt stadium in al-Khor, where Moroccan supporters, jerseys and red flags on their shoulders, were by far the most numerous, the French players and staff were profusely whistled at warming up.
Whatever the final result, Jamel Debbouze was already in the World Cup final before the start of the match!
In the France team, two usual holders were missing: Adrien Rabiot, package, and Dayot Upamecano, left on the bench.
As a symbol, the release came from Théo Hernandez (5th, 1-0), understudy for his brother Lucas who became a starter after the eldest's withdrawal at the very start of the tournament.
Often more enterprising and dominant, the Reds and Greens pushed through attempts that came up against the captain of the Blues, Hugo Lloris.
Like this superb acrobatic return from Jawad El Yamiq (45th)…
Pushed back by the post and the French goalkeeper.
Olivier Giroud, the best artificer in the history of the Blues, decisive scorer in the quarters against England (2-1) this time did not shake the nets, just a post.
The Atlas Lions did not manage to scratch the world champions, but they filled the dream box of the Maghreb and the Arab world, from Doha to Casablanca, by piling up the exploits against Croatia, the Spain and Portugal.
The Blues fought, like the tireless Antoine Griezmann, but they sometimes seemed physically dull.
And the supporters also suffered!
Until deliverance when Randal Kolo Muani (79th, 2-0), called back as reinforcements in extremis to replace Christopher Nkunku before the big start, scored the second goal of the game less than a minute after coming on.
Hey, hey… This image may have reminded another!
On the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon or even Marseille, the qualification of the Blues for the final of the 2022 World Cup was celebrated late Wednesday evening by thousands of supporters in a largely good-natured atmosphere with however some incidents and arrests.
The France team will face Argentina on Sunday December 18 at 4 p.m.
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World Cup 2022
Semi final
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