PARIS — France will take on Argentina in the World Cup final after beating Morocco 2-0 in an absorbing semi-final on Wednesday to stay on course for a successful title defence and end the fairytale run of the north Africans in Qatar.
Theo Hernandez scored in the fifth minute in a perfect start for the holders, who would have been looking for an early strike to silence the rowdy Moroccan support at the Al Bayt Stadium and dent the confidence of their team.
But it still proved a close-run clash as Morocco overcame injury blows and showed no deference to France’s reputation, taking the game to them in a gallant effort that added to the glowing reputation they have earned at the tournament.
France settled the outcome with a second goal 11 minutes from time as substitute Randal Kolo Muani, with a first touch after coming on, tucked in a shot at the back post.
For the first goal, Hernandez had to lift his left foot high to connect with a bouncing ball from a tight angle to finish off a sweeping move started by Antoine Griezmann’s run down the right and a cutback pass that Kylian Mbappe initially fluffed.
Mbappe was the creator of the second as he attempted first to dribble through the Morocco defence and then shot, his effort blocked but falling for Kolo Muani to net.
Olivier Giroud struck the post and missed from point-blank range in the first half at the end of a barnstorming run through the middle from Aurelien Tchouameni.
The midfielder threaded a superb ball to find Mbappe, whose miscued shot was poorly cleared, allowing Giroud a first-time shot which was wide from close-in.
But Morocco were never overawed and had opportunity as Azzedine Ounahi forced two good saves out of French captain Hugo Lloris with speculative efforts, and curling set-pieces put the French defence under pressure.
The north Africans were hit hard by injuries to their key centre backs with the gamble of naming Nayef Aguerd in the starting line up failing to come off as he hurt his hamstring in the warm-up and skipper Romain Saiss having to go off after 20 minutes.
Supporters poured into Paris’s freezing Champs-Elysees boulevard on Wednesday after a World Cup semi-final between France and Morocco which for millions tugged at the heartstrings, as “Les Bleus” won 2-0 to reach the final for a second time in a row.
Deeply enmeshed by their colonial bonds and post-war flows of migrant labour from North Africa to France, the two nations share a history that has shaped their identities and their politics, and made for a sometimes edgy relationship.
France is home to a large Moroccan community, many of whom have dual citizenship.
“We preferred to come early because it will be chaos later on. We just want to celebrate our win and we can really feel it will get crazy,” said student Kerene Massuka who came with a friend carrying a French flag.
They were flanked by hundreds of police trucks securing the area as fans let off fireworks.
Crowds of supporters from both countries were seen entering the Christmas-decorated boulevard after the final whistle, where authorities were bracing for tens of thousands despite temperatures around 0 Celsius.
The stakes were high on both sides.
Morocco had a shot at becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup final, but France are now poised to become the first team to retain their World Cup title in 60 years on Sunday.
In the French capital, Police were gearing up for possible skirmishes, after scuffles followed last week’s Moroccan quarter-final win over Portugal.
Some 10,000 police officers will be mobilised nationwide, of which 5,000 personnel will be posted in the Ile-de-France region around Paris and some 2,200 in the capital, double the security staff than for earlier key World Cup matches, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on France 2 television.
Morocco fans in France had been in a celebratory frenzy ever since their team went on its historic World Cup journey, becoming the first African and Arab team to reach the last four in the global showpiece event.
Celebrations have been overwhelmingly peaceful, but in some places including the Champs-Elysees, Morocco fans clashed with police.
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