The Atlas Lions lived up to their nickname by fighting ferociously throughout, but Les Bleus are back in the final after a 2-0 win in Al Khor
Morocco's beautiful World Cup dream has died, but France's hopes of a second successive title live on after they somehow managed to tame the Atlas Lions at a raucous Al Bayt Stadium.
After conceding an early goal to Theo Hernandez, the pride of Africa threw absolutely everything at the defending champions.
But Ibrahima Konate & Co. held firm. Les Bleus refused to buckle. Didier Deschamps' team just always seem to find a way to win and Randal Kolo Muani sealed victory for France less than a minute after coming off the bench.
Morocco's incredible supporters did everything within their power to roar their side to victory but Sunday's final will feature France against Argentina. And, of course, Kylian Mbappe versus Lionel Messi.
It should be a head to head for the ages. History will be made no matter what happens.
But nobody will ever forget just how much Morocco contributed to this game, and indeed this tournament. Third place would be a fitting reward for their players and their followers.
GOAL runs through the winners and losers from an engrossing evening in Al Khor that saw Morocco lose a fiercely contested semi-final showdown but win the hearts of yet more football fans across the world.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Theo Hernandez
While Theo Hernandez's defensive attributes are underappreciated he is, as we saw against England, always prone to doing something silly.
His needless shoulder-charge on Mason Mount could – and indeed should – have resulted in France being forced into playing an extra half hour against an England side they were struggling to contain. He also arguably got away with a clumsy tackle on Sofiane Boufal here.
However, Stefano Pioli and plenty of others would argue that the risk that comes with picking Hernandez in defence is worth the potential reward, and this game illustrated why, with the AC Milan star popping up in the area to open the scoring with an acrobatic finish that got better with every viewing.
The irony, of course, is that he probably wouldn't have started a single game at this tournament had his brother Lucas not been injured in France's opener against Australia, given Deschamps is quite a conservative coach.
But Hernandez, who has created more chances at this tournament than any other defender (11), is a big reason why Les Bleus are back in another final.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Morocco's centre-backs
The gamble did not pay off. On the contrary, it backfired badly.
Less than 20 minutes into the biggest game in Moroccan football history, Walid Regragui had lost two of the three centre-backs he had picked to face France.
Nayef Aguerd didn't even make the kick-off, forced to withdraw at the 11th hour due to illness. He was soon joined on the bench by his captain, Romain Saiss, who pulled up while trying and failing to keep up with Olivier Giroud – the most obvious sign of a physical problem possible.
The skipper's substitution was particularly problematic because it forced Regragui into switching to a back four, which obviously limited Achraf Hakimi and Noussair Mazraoui's chances to get forward without the security of an extra centre-half to negate the threat posed by France's fliers out wide, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe.
The former failed to take advantage but the latter certainly made an impact (more on that later), while the once-again excellent Antoine Griezmann exploited the upheaval and uncertainty in the Moroccan backline inside five minutes and continued to cause problems throughout.
The Atlas Lions, remember, hadn't trailed once in this tournament until Hernandez's opener. Sadly, they can only now wonder what might have happened had all of their first-choice defenders been fit…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Didier Deschamps
It's worth remembering that Didier Deschamps copped a copious amount of criticism after France's last-16 exit at Euro 2020.
Plenty of pundits and supporters had grown weary of his safety-first approach to football. The argument was that, given the players at his disposal, France were merely effective when they could be truly exhilarating.
It is impossible to argue with Deschamps' World Cup record, though.
Not only has he led a team to a second consecutive final, after triumphing at Russia 2018, the man who lifted the trophy as a player in 1998 has now won 14 of his 18 matches as a coach. Only Helmut Schon has managed more (16).
Whether the purists like it or not, Deschamps is a winner. And on Sunday he could become only the second manager, after Italy's Vittorio Pozzo, to win back-to-back World Cups.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Dayot Upamecano
Dayot Upamecano only missed this game through illness, but there is now zero guarantee that he will get back into the side for Sunday's final.
In fact, it would be a travesty if Ibrahima Konate does not retain his place alongside Raphael Varane in the centre of defence as the 23-year-old was sensational here, utterly integral to France repelling wave after wave of Moroccan attacks.
Konate made one crucial interception after another, a succession of terrifically timed tackles and even put Olivier Giroud in on goal with a sublime ball over the top.
Konate was quite simply Les Bleus' best player on the night, and when one considers just how much trouble Upamecano was given by Harry Kane in the quarter-finals, the Liverpool man is the obvious choice to tackle Messi & Co this weekend.