Nobody expected France and Morocco to meet in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, but one of them will decide their path to the final when they meet at Al Beit Stadium on Wednesday.
France is the defending world champions but has lost several key players to injury ahead of the tournament. Head coach Didier Deschamps is confident his side will not lose and Les Bleus have produced some stunning performances in Qatar, thanks mainly to their front four of Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud, and Kylian Mbappe.
They also have some defensive errors, which have been foreign to a Morocco team that has allowed just one goal in five games. That combination of rock-solid defending and timely goals became the formula for Walid Regragui’s Atlas Lions to become the first African team to reach the semi-finals, defeating Spain and Portugal in the process.
The long, intertwined history and existing ties between the two nations – Regragui is French-born as are other Moroccan players, and others play for French teams – and a loyal and vociferous Moroccan supporter base will add a different dimension to the game. Another Moroccan wonder is not entirely out of the question.
France vs Morocco Live Score
| Team | 1H | 2H | Final |
| France | 1 | 1 | — |
| Morocco | 0 | 0 | — |
Goals:
FRA – T Hernandez – 5 min
FRA – Colo Mouani – 79 min
Estimated lineups:
France (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) — 5. Kaunde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 8. Tchouameni, 14. Rabiot — 11. Dembele, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappe – 9. Giroud
Morocco (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Bono (GK) – 2. Hakimi, 5. Aguird, 6. Sais, 25. Attiyah Allah – 8. Onahi, 4. Amrabat, 15. Amallah – 7 Jiych, 19. An-Nesiri, 17. Bouffal
France vs Morocco Live Updates, 2022 World Cup Highlights
Full time: France 2-0 Argentina
After defeating Morocco, France is playing against Argentina in the final of the World Cup. Theo Hernandez’s early goal changed the course of the game, with Morocco in possession for the first time in the tournament. Both teams hit the post, both wasted great chances, and there were several nervous moments for France when substitute Randall Kolo Muani scored with his first touch in the 79th minute.
France performed well, as they have indeed done throughout the tournament. They are one game away from making history; Morocco has already done this.
90+1 min: There will be six minutes of time added
86 min: Ziyech tried to twist inside Thuram, who rose to win the goal kick.
79 min: Goal! to France (Colo Mouani)
Not a bad time to score your first international goal. Kylian Mbappe fashions some room to shoot with quick feet. His effort is half-blocked but it reaches Kolo Muani to tap home at the back post. France is back in the final.
FRANCE MAKES IT TWO 🇫🇷
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 14, 2022
Randal Kolo Muani scores his first international goal for France 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kTND4IeiUO
71 min: Chance for France! Griezmann’s teasing free-kick was glanced at the far post by Thuram. That was a really good chance, although he was under a bit of pressure from the defender.
68 min: Hakimi committed an unnecessary foul on Thuram near the corner flag…
63 min: Boufal did brilliantly to get to the byline on the right, but his cutback was cleared again by… Griezmann.
59 min: Mbappe is limping a bit after some heavy challenges, and Marcus Thuram is warming up.
54 min: Plural chances for Morocco! Boufal’s dangerous cross just eludes N-Nessiri and falls to Attiatt-Allah, who can’t control his shot as the ball kicks a bit awkwardly. Moments later Attiat-Allah finds a little space on the left side of the area and tries to pick out An-Nesiri in the six-yard box. Konate, again, does very well for cleaning.
52 min: Mbappe is back on his feet after treatment. I think it was a fair challenge from Amravat.
50th min: Hakim Ziyech Theo Hernandez stands up and darts past him. His low delivery was cleared by Ibrahima Konate.
48 min: Griezmann, the tournament’s best player, uses Giroud unmarked and slides a beautiful ball toward Mbappe on the edge of the area. Hakimi tracks him down nicely and jumps off his line to claim Bono.
47 min: Mbappe roasts Hakimi and Amrabat down the left to the byline but overhits his cross.
Half time: France 1-0 Morocco
France took the lead through Theo Hernandez’s opening goal but Morocco leveled in a thrilling and surprising first half. Both teams have hit the post, and Hugo Lloris has likely been the busiest keeper. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
45 min: 3 min added
44 min: Morocco hit the post! Jawad El Yamik, who was partly responsible for the opening goal, struck a stunning overhead kick after France failed to fully deal with Hakim Ziyech’s corner. Hugo Lloris’s toe-to-toe header and the bottom of the upright preserved Les Bleus’ lead.
40 min: Griezmann’s corner is flicked wide by Varane in front of the near post. A quarter chance at best.
36 min: Big chance for Mbappe and Giroud! France should be leading 2-0. Chouameni threaded a superb ball inside Hakimi to find Mbappe in the area. Bono’s pass was flicked on by El Yamik and he fired in a shot, although Mbappe was a little off-balance and it was not going to go wide. France regained possession, and seconds later Giroud curled a first-time shot wide from around 12 yards. He should have scored.
A HUGE chance for France!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 14, 2022
Giroud is going to want this one back 😬 pic.twitter.com/BekrZ9CXZT
29 min: Giroud, who has been playing really well so far, nicked the ball from Amrabat in midfield before Amallah fouled him.
27 min: Theo Hernandez is booked for a foul in the Boufal France area. It’s a good job Hernandez got a touch on the ball as he then obliterated Bofal on his follow-through.
21 min: It’s a sad end for Romain Saiss, who hobbles off. Morocco’s gamble on its captain and Nayef Agard has not paid off. In comes, Selim Amallah and that means a switch to the more familiar 4-3-3 for Regargui’s side.
18 min: Olivier Giroud hits the post! France’s record goalscorer returns from Romain Saiss, who is walking with incredible effort, and thumps against the left foot of the upright.
The given video is available in US
GIROUD OFF THE POST 😱
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 14, 2022
France nearly has a second pic.twitter.com/gqkf1KQu5u
17 min: Giroud hits the post! A long ball from behind beats the out-of-form Saiss and reaches Giroud. He hits a half-volley that goes off Bono and hits the outside of the post.
13 min: Morocco needs to settle down a bit here. Sofyan Amrabat carelessly passed the ball inside his own half. As early as against England, France is judiciously pressing and setting traps. 1-0 is a bad situation for the Atlas Lions but 2-0 will feel close to inevitable at this point.
11 mins: Great save by Lloris! Morocco has responded really well to going back. Ounahi pings a sweet shot from 25 yards which is well saved by Lloris diving to his left.
5 min: Goal! to France (T Hernandez)
Morocco’s last-ditch defending looked to have worked when Kylian Mbappe’s shot was blocked on the end of Antoine Griezmann’s cutback. Mbappe’s second effort struck Olivier Giroud but Hernandez was alert to the possibilities with an acrobatic finish at the back post.
FRANCE HIT THE FRONT 🔥
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 14, 2022
Theo Hernandez puts the world champs ahead inside the first five minutes 💪#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup pic.twitter.com/DS8N7OdYRv
4 min: A slow start, with both teams feeling their way into the game. Every French touch is whistling.
1 min: The first World Cup semi-final involving an African team is officially underway.
France vs Morocco lineup, team news
Many players were clearly feeling under the weather as the cold bug crept into the French squad and there were concerns about the condition of starters Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upmechano, who fell ill in the days leading up to the semi-final and missed the final training session. But the latest report from Qatar says that both will start.
If there is a struggle during the match, Ibrahima Konate (for Upamecano) and Youssef Fofana (for Rabiot) will be their natural replacements.
France (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) — 5. Kaunde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 8. Tchouameni, 14. Rabiot — 11. Dembele, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappe – 9. Giroud
The Morocco lineup will be mostly the same with the only change from the win against Portugal as Bayern Munich’s Nosair Mazraoui returns to the starting lineup at left-back after suffering illness.
West Ham center-back Nayef Aguirre is yet to recover from his thigh injury and Real Valladolid’s Javard El-Yamik will continue to deputize. Although he also carries a knock, it looks like center-back Romain Saiss will play with a push.
Morocco (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Bono (GK) — 2. Hakimi, 18-El Yamik, 6. Sais, 25. Attiyah Allah — 8. Onahi, 4. Amrabat, 15. Amalla— 7. Ziyech, 19. An-Nesiri, 17. Boufal
France vs Morocco Live Stream, TV Channel
This second semi-final match will be played at Al Bayat Stadium.
Here’s how you can see all the action in some key global regions.
| Country | Date | Time | TV Channel | Streaming |
| USA | Wed, Dec. 14 | 14:00 ET | Fox, Telemundo | fuboTV, Fox Sports site/app, Telemundo Deportes site/app, Peacock |
| Canada | Wed, Dec. 14 | 14:00 ET | TSN 1, CTV, RDS (French) | TSN site/app, CTV website, RDS app |
| UK | Wed, Dec. 14 | 19:00 GMT | BBC One | BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website |
| Australia | Thu, Dec. 15 | 06:00 AEDT | SBS | SBS On Demand |
| India | Thu, Dec. 15 | 00:30 IST | Sports 18 | JioTV |
| Hong Kong | Thu, Dec. 15 | 03:00 HKT | Now TV (Ch. 616, 618) | Now TV |
| Malaysia | Thu, Dec. 15 | 03:00 MYT | Astro FIFA World Cup 1 | Astro GO |
| Singapore | Thu, Dec. 15 | 03:00 SGT | StarHub TV FIFA World Cup, Singtel FIFA World Cup 141 | Singtel TV GO, CAST, StarHub TV+, MeWatch |
| New Zealand | Thu, Dec. 15 | 08:00 NZDT | Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports | Sky Go, Sky Sport NOW |