+ France-Morocco, Thursday, 10:00 p.m.
Boston Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
TV4/P4 Radio Sport
+ Morocco dreamed of a World Cup final in 2022 but had those hopes dashed by a group of Frenchmen led by Antoine Griezmann. With an early and a late goal, Morocco was stopped, and France then took silver after losing on penalties to Argentina in the final.
Four years later, the Moroccans are looking for revenge.
The national team and the players have taken further steps in their development since the World Cup in Qatar and are now able to control matches in a different way. They have found their way of playing.
Morocco, however, faces a different France. Griezmann is no longer in the mix, and the French have an attacking front that few can match: Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola.
+ For many, many years, Morocco was a footballing nation that struggled to qualify for championships and then, once they reached the finals, had difficulty progressing from the group. Lately, things have been different. In Qatar 2022, they were one of the sensation teams and the tournament in the Gulf emirate ended with them in fourth place. In North America, the success has continued; progressing from the group, winning on penalties against the Netherlands in the round of 16 and then easily beating Canada in the round of 16. Now, as I said, the gold favorite France awaits.
+ Didier Deschamps is the national team coach who has won the World Cup both as a player and as a manager - now he is the person who has given the national team stability. He took over in 2012, two years after France finished 29th in South Africa in 2010, and has led “Les Bleus” to the quarter-finals in 2014, gold in 2018 and silver in 2022. France is looking for a third consecutive World Cup final and has impressed so far with five wins out of five and a 14-2 goal difference.
