'The new Pelé' Kylian Mbappé is about to face his greatest challenge yet
AL KHOR, Qatar — Morocco was pouring on the pressure in the second half of Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal against defending champion France, and for a while, it seemed possible that the Atlas Lions’ fairytale journey at the 2022 World Cup would continue.
Kylian Mbappé refused to let it happen.
With Les Bleus clinging to a 1-0 lead in the 79th minute, Mbappé spun Paris Saint-Germain teammate Achraf Hakimi, exchanged passes with Marcus Thuram, then sliced through three Moroccan defenders before dishing the ball to substitute Randal Kolo Muani, who scored the insurance goal France so desperately needed to win 2-0, finally end Morocco’s run, and advance to Sunday’s World Cup final against Lionel Messi’s Argentina (coverage starts at 9 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).
"It wasn't an easy victory, but we showed our quality and experience and team spirit," Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps, whose team was visited by French president Emmanuel Macron in the locker room afterward, said in his postgame press conference. "We had to dig deep in the challenging moments in the match."
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France and Morocco faced off in the semifinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
There were plenty of those. France came into the contest as the bookies' pick not just to beat Morocco but the favorite to win it all. Should Deschamps’ team succeed, it would become the first nation to repeat as champs since Pelé-led Brazil did it 60 years ago.
But although the French took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish on Theo Hernandez’s fifth-minute goal — which came after Mbappé’s initial shot was blocked — the underdogs made them extremely uncomfortable most of the rest of the way. There was plenty of time left for the Moroccans to equalize until Mbappé’s moment of brilliance effectively ended it.
It wasn’t just the Moroccan players they were up against. With nine out of every 10 fans clad in red and raucously cheering their lungs out inside the jam-packed 68,000-seat Al Bay Stadium, the atmosphere was decidedly hostile. Supporters of the Atlas Lions — the first African team ever to reach the final four — whistled derisively every time France touched the ball. As a practical matter, this was an away game.
On the field, Les Bleus keeper Hugo Lloris was forced into a pair of top-shelf first-half saves, the first a diving stop on a long-range missile by midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, the second on defender Jawad El Yamiq’s acrobatic bicycle kick in stoppage time that Lloris tipped into the post.
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Morocco nearly had the goal of the tournament in Wednesday's semifinal game against France.
Morocco’s onslaught continued in the second half, even though injured captain Romain Saïss had to be substituted in the 21st minute and left back Noussair Mazraoui followed at the intermission. France’s defense bent but didn’t break, though, and eventually registered the World Cup holders’ first clean sheet though six matches in Qatar so far.
"Morocco impressed me," said midfielder Antoine Griezmann. "In the second half, they created a lot of opportunities and caused problems for us. I think our coach realized and put markers on the left. And that was a change that really helped, because we were stronger on the left flank to help to defend. The fact that we scored an early goal made things easier for us as well."
Still, he knows Sunday’s match will pose an even stiffer challenge.
"Any team with Messi is a totally different proposition," Griezmann said. "We've seen Argentina, we know how they play. They're a difficult team to face, and they seem to be on top form. And of course there isn’t only Messi — they have a strong side around him."
Left unsaid was that France has a game-changing superstar of its own in Mbappé, the heir apparent to Messi as the game’s greatest player.
Asked about the Mbappé-Messi matchup, French-born Moroccan coach Walid Regragui weighed in on the final fans across the globe are already salivating over. "Argentina has grown in confidence thanks to Messi’s brilliant play," he said. "It will be a well-balanced match."
Still, he made his preference clear.
"France is the top footballing country in the world," he said. "Messi knows that it's his last opportunity to win a World Cup. But Mbappé is also a fantastic player, and it would be wonderful for him to the World Cup. We said he was the new Pelé, and if he wins the World Cup again, he would be emulating Pelé.
"And it would be great if France won because then we could say we lost to the world champion."
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Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.