It was probably one of the most anticipated posters of these quarter-finals. In its race for the supreme coronation, the French team had to sweep away Morocco, a nation which is slowly establishing itself among the best teams in the world. For this meeting, Didier Deschamps could count on his eleven type as since the start of the competition. The only choice in this eleven, the Blues technician preferred Désiré Doué to Bradley Barcola on the left wing. Opposite, Morocco presented itself with a team deprived of two important elements. Still injured, Chadi Riad was not there just like top scorer Ismael Saibari. Mohamed Ouahbi therefore tried to put Mazraoui in the middle and reposition El Khannouss as number 9 for this match.
Very quickly in this meeting, the French stood out. From a corner from Ousmane Dembélé, Upamecano slammed in a header that Yassine Bounou miraculously pushed away (5th). In the tough, Morocco was unable to get a ball out and was under French pressure. The Blues, thanks to a fairly impressive Manu Koné, set a frantic pace and the Moroccans clearly seemed to be suffering. After a domination marked by a few chances, France obtained a penalty which was to break the deadlock. After Achraf Hakimi lost the ball, Olise threw Mbappé perfectly who got the better of Mazraoui who made a mistake. After a fairly long VAR check, Mbappé presented himself against Bounou. And obviously in this exercise, if the French excels, the Moroccan goalkeeper excels just as much and he therefore stopped the Frenchman’s shot (25th). Not enough to demotivate the French who spent the rest of the first act accelerating without finding a real fault. Lucas Digne even tried his hand at a long-range shot which smashed Bounou’s bar (45th).
France not really worried
Returning from the locker room, France continued on the same basis. If she left a little more space on some transitions to the Moroccans, she continued to monopolize the ball. And inevitably, by pushing, the Blues logically ended up opening the score. As a symbol, it was Kylian Mbappé who found the fault. The Real Madrid striker, for his special, sent a wonderful curling strike which left Yassine Bounou no chance (1-0, 60th). A goal which came to relieve the Blues and reward the logical domination. And with this scenario, Morocco was forced to leave more space in transitions. Who says more spaces, necessarily says formidable French attackers. Ousmane Dembélé made the break a few minutes later.
The French Ballon d’Or started alone in the center of the field and placed a precise shot out of reach of Yassine Bounou (2-0, 66th). The break was over and the Blues could breathe a big sigh of relief. With a two-goal lead, the French could manage better and Didier Deschamps therefore rotated his squad a little. Small scare on the other hand since Kylian Mbappé seemed to come out injured, replaced by Mateta. But despite some slight Moroccan attempts and opportunities for Barcola or Olise on the counter, the score will no longer change. The French team continues its flawless performance in the competition and therefore qualifies for the semi-finals. The Blues will face the winner of Spain-Belgium. For Morocco, the step seemed too high, as in 2022, to hope to go further. The goal of the 3rd star is getting closer than ever.
