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It's a tale of opposites meeting as miserly Morocco take on the flamboyant attacking force of France in this semi-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cupᵀᴹ.
With their 2-1 win over England, France became the first holders of the World Cup to reach the semi-finals since Brazil in 1998 (lost to France in the final).
They’ve also climbed the record books as one of the most successful nations at reaching semi-finals, with their seventh World Cup semi-finals appearance set to equal Italy (7) for third-most. Only (West) Germany (12) and Brazil (8) have played in more semi-finals at the World Cup.
With France (and Croatia yesterday) advancing, the 2022 World Cup semi-finals are the first to feature both finalists from the previous tournament since 1990, when 1986 finalists West Germany and Argentina both reached back-to-back finals.
Notable stats for France:
- All-time France leading goalscorer Olivier Giroud netted his fifth World Cup goal with the winner against England, equalling Zinédine Zidane and Michel Platini in fourth place among France players.
- Aurélien Tchouaméni, born on 27 January 2000, was the first player born this century to score a World Cup goal for France.
- Hugo Lloris (143) surpassed Lilian Thuram (142) as France's all-time leading appearance maker. Lloris (33) also surpassed Thuram (32) on the most appearances for France at major tournaments (World Cup EUROs).
- Lloris (18) became the France player on the most World Cup appearances, surpassing Fabien Barthez and Thierry Henry (both 17). Antoine Griezmann equalled Barthez and Henry on 17 World Cup matches for Les Bleus, and maintains his unbeaten starting streak at 72.
Morocco became the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, with a towering header from Youssef En-Nesyri enough to send them through, 1-0 against Portugal.
Morocco were the first African team to remain unbeaten in six consecutive World Cup matches (W3-D3-L0, game decided by a penalty shootout classed as a draw), their last loss actually coming in a 1-0 defeat against Portugal in the 2018 group stage.
Morocco remained unbeaten in all eight games since Walid Regragui took control in September (W5-D3-L0, match decided by a penalty shootout classed as a draw). No opposition player scored against the Atlas Lions in those seven fixtures (the only goal they conceded in that run was an own goal by Nayef Aguerd).
Notable stats for Morocco:
- The strength of the Morocco team is in defence, only conceding that own goal in the group stages. Morocco claimed their fourth clean sheet at the 2022 World Cup and can go on to equal the record for the most in this game against France. Six teams have kept a record five clean sheets at a single World Cup, most recently Spain in 2010.
- At the other end of the pitch, Morocco haven’t scored much, but they haven’t needed too many goals. They are the first team to qualify for the World Cup semi-finals while scoring only five goals in the tournament since Argentina (4) in 1990.
- Morocco were the third African team to win multiple matches against European teams at a single World Cup, after Nigeria (2 in 1994 and 1998) and Senegal (2 in 2002).
- Youssef En-Nesyri became the first player to score three World Cup goals for Morocco.
How to watch France v Morocco LIVE and FREE on SBS
Thursday, December 15
Semi-Final - France v Morocco
5:30am - 8:30am (AEDT) - kick-off at 6:00am
LIVE on SBS and SBS On Demand
