They arrived with a lot of noise and thumping level ambition. The Moroccans in this city had been talking loudly about how they wanted to host the 2030 World Cup final as the tournament’s reigning champions.
Their caravan of red had been rolling through the streets for so long that you wondered if anyone of them had slept.
But France, who saw shadows on every wall – officials, opponents and the force of football history – batted them away last night with two strikes of sublime brilliance.
L’Equipe fretted in its headlines about ‘Une Autre Histoire’ – another history – but technical brilliance told and Kylian Mbappe again led the way.
Despite missing a first-half spot kick, he scored the first of two goals in six minutes which saw France through, providing the assist for Ousmane Dembele to double the lead.
Daily Mail Sport’s IAN HERBERT was at the Gillette Stadium to run the rule over France’s 2-0 win over Morocco.
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Kylian Mbappe was once again on target for France as they reached the World Cup semi-finals
Morocco poor
The big surprise was how poor Morocco were. For all the enthusiasm of a fanbase who made this gorgeous stadium seem like central Casablanca, their team were leaden and lumpen.
When they journeyed to the semi-finals four years ago and lost 2-0 to France, Morocco were free spirits, carrying everything before them.
But this time, their low block and compact set-up demonstrated even less ambition than Paraguay did in the bad-tempered round of 16 game.
Nine red shirts strung out into two tight lines with barely daylight between them. Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz was the only exception to a display in which Morocco’s accuracy and technical level on the counter was pitifully poor.
Striker Ismael Saibari was injured, so they played without one.
Mbappe watch
Mbappe dominates and leads this France side more than any of the other superstars – Haaland, Messi and Kane – who have lit up this tournament and brought their A-games to it.
The bizarre levels of hate being displayed for him in Paraguay, whom he put to the sword in the round of 16, has seen effigies of him burnt there.
The penalty miss would have affected other players but he didn’t flinch. Having been the prime threat with a near-post snapshot early on, his goal was divine. The margin of error as Mbappe brought his right-boot down on the ball he clipped past Yassine Bounou was virtually nil.
That ball traced no arc. It was a straight, true shot through the eye of a needle past the figure of Fulham’s Issa Diop and the outstretched arm of Yassine Bounou. How desperately this attritional game needed that.
A one-man France team?
To some extent, yes. Mbappe is so far ahead of all the others in this side and that is a cause for France fans to worry. But there were signs of Ousmane Dembele bringing his own game here.
For a player of such outstanding class in the Champions League for PSG, you feel he has more to offer here – and if he did match that level, you would have to say it’s going to take a hell of a lot to beat France.
The quality of his goal – France’s second – suggested he can come to the table. It was a strike of such beauty, threaded through 15 yards into the bottom corner.
It even eclipsed the captain’s goal and suggested that France, whose weakness here has been such a heavy Mbappe dependency, can fly and fascinate in other ways.
If they come up against the Spain defence in next Tuesday’s Dallas semi-final, you feel that Dembele and Michael Olise will have to fire.
He did, though, see his first-half penalty saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou after a lengthy wait
Detestable VAR
The VAR delay before the Mbappe’s penalty kick just before the half hour was a disgrace, proving yet again that interminable technology so often damages more than it mends.
There may have been a need to check a foul in the phase before France broke away and Mbappe was felled. But three minutes, 12 seconds’ delay was pitiful. Mbappe was left waiting in the heat, with the ball on the spot, whistles of impatience ringing around the stadium and his arm gesture was a signal of his own frustration.
He reset, then reset, then missed, though the same stuttering run up which saw Bruno Fernandes miss for Brazil a few days ago, needs to be considered a disciplinary offence.
Fifa-tina conspiracy?
It was a very pro-Morocco environment with the whistles whenever the African nation were in possession but fears that the all-Argentinean officiating team may somehow try to nobble France came to nothing.
From the minute that referee Facundo Tello waved play on when Brahim Diaz took a dive in front of the French box early on, it was clear that he was going to be straight and fair.
He had a good game, helped by the fact that Morocco did not try to cynically manhandle France out of the match as Paraguay did
This was not good enough from Morocco, who will hope to host the final in four years’ time
Where do Morocco go from here?
Morocco’s World Cup story is only just beginning. They will petition Gianni Infantino very hard to stage the final of that 2030 tournament in the teeth of opposition from Spain, another of the co-hosts, who want it in Madrid.
Don’t be surprised if the Moroccans, who have invested billions in their football, get their way. Infantino needs the African vote when he seeks re-election as president.
But there is work to do if they are to be challengers by then. As one of their former technical directors, Neil Ward, told us last week, they need to be more than the sum of their European diaspora. Real Madrid’s Diaz aside, this was not good enough.
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