of HUSSEIN HUSSAIN in Doha, Qatar
special correspondent
Doha, (CAJ News) – MOROCCO have suffered their first loss at the tournament, but their progress has been such that even this setback against defending champions France cannot stop their fairytale run in Qatar.
The myth continues until Saturday when they battle fellow defeated semifinalists Croatia for the bronze medal at the Khalifa International.
For France, the prize of the 2-0 victory against the North Africans at Al Bayt is the last match against Lionel Messi’s Argentina at Lusail on Sunday.
With their injury problems behind them, Morocco will always wonder what could have been with a fully fit defence.
Central defender Nayef Aguerd withdrew before kick-off after his hamstring injury recurred.
Captain Roman Saiss retired with the same injury in the 21st minute, to be replaced by Selim Amallah.
Left back Noussair Mazraoui did not return in the second half, his place was taken by Yahya Attia Allah.
It took the tournament’s first opponent 485 minutes to score against Bono in the Moroccan goal, when left-back Theo Hernández scored with an acrobatic shot in the fifth minute.
He ended up unmarked with an acrobatic effort at the near post by Bono.
Walid Regragui responded tremendously to falling behind with the hard-working Sofyan Amrabat dominating midfield.
Hugo Lloris single-handedly kept France in the lead, first with a diving save from an Azzedine Ounahi effort in the 10th minute.
Hakim Ziyech shot meekly wide six minutes later after being supplied by the excellent Sofiane Boufal.
Lloris came to the rescue again for the French with a world-class save, deflecting Jawad El Yamick’s acrobatic effort into the post in the 45th minute.
The best chances and most of the possession went to the North Africans in the second half, but they put France out of harm’s way.
The second goal for the Europeans by Randal Kolo Muaini at 79 was against the development of the game. So possession was 60 percent in favor of the Moroccans.
The substitute benefited from the great work inside the area of the agile Kylian Mbappé.
Soccer is a cruel sport that sometimes loses despite its most dominant performance so far in the tournament.
Lloris was also inspired between the points, but Morocco will be the first to admit on several occasions that they hesitated in good positions in the box.
In the end, France held on for a win that puts them on a back-to-back title win. For Morocco, a bronze medal will be the icing on the cake of what has been the history of the tournament.
– CAJ News
