Will the Atlas Lion surprise continue?

Bisnis.comJAKARTA – France will face Morocco in the semi-finals which will take place at Al Bayt Stadium on Thursday (15/12/2022) at 02:00 WIB.

France qualified for the semi-finals after beating England 2-1 in the quarter-finals. Didier Deschamps’ men are trying to repeat qualifying for successive World Cup finals.

In the 2018 World Cup, France qualified for the final after beating Belgium. France even became champions.

In the match against Morocco in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, France will appear in full force. There are no player concerns about injuries like their Moroccan opponents, and none of the players have been subject to accumulated yellow card penalties or suspensions.

The depth of the star-studded team is on all fronts. Even though France have no more basic players at the 2018 World Cup, France still have other players of the same quality. The absence of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté in midfield can be guessed thanks to the presence of Aurélien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot.

On the front line, Olivier Giroud proved to be a convincing substitute for the injured Karim Benzema. On the back line, the names of the toughest defenders in the world appear in the France team, such as Raphaël Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konaté, up to William Lilina.

Meanwhile, Morocco faces the absence of a number of key players. Their defenders Romain Saïss and Nayef Aguerd should miss the match against France through injury.

Even so, Moroccan national team coach Walid Reragui remains optimistic that the Lion Atlas surprise will continue. He called the Atlas Lion the “World Cup Rocky”.

Reragui described his team as a fairy tale in Qatar and compared it to the fictional Hollywood film Rocky Balboa.

The film, starring American actor Sylvester Stallone, tells the story of a small-time fighter who gets an unexpected opportunity in world heavyweight boxing. In this fight, Rocky managed to win.

“When you look at Rocky, you want to support Rocky Balboa and I think we’re Rocky in this World Cup. I think now the world is with Morocco,” he said.

Reragui himself is still expected to rely on a 4-3-3 formation against France. Their attacking line, consisting of Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri and Sofiane Boufal, is ready to work hand in hand to beat the French defense which is filled with the best defenders in the world.

Line-ups planned for France against Morocco

France (4-2-3-1)

Hugo Lloris; Jules Koundé, Raphaël Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Théo Hernández; Aurélien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembélé, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappé; Olivier Giroud.

Morocco (4-3-3)

Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Achraf Dari, Jawad El Yamiq, Yahya Attiat-Allah; Sofyan Amrabat, Selim Amallah, Azzedine Ounahi; Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, Sofiane Boufal.

France vs. Morocco Stats

– France is currently ranked 4th in FIFA, while Morocco is ranked 22nd.

– France won in Group D with 6 victory points against Denmark and Australia.

– In the round of 16, France beat Poland 3-1.

– In the quarter-finals, France met England and managed to win 2-1.

– In the preliminary round of the 2022 World Cup, Morocco won Group F with 7 points from 2 wins against Belgium and Canada, and a draw against Croatia.

– In the round of 16, Morocco won on penalties against Spain.

– In the quarter-finals, Morocco met Portugal and managed to win with the score of 1-0.

Head to head France vs Morocco

2 meetings

1 time France wins

1 draw

Last two meetings

16/11/2007: France 2-2 Morocco

06/06/2000: Morocco 1-5 France

Score prediction France vs Morocco

Final score prediction according to WhoScored, France 1-0 Morocco.


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