Morocco captain Romain Saiss was substituted in the semi-final match against France. He had been injured in the quarter-final against Portugal but was still fielded by manager Walid Regragui, maybe as a morale booster for the other players.
However, Saiss’ injury took the better of him and the 32-year-old had to be taken off to give way to Selim Amallah.
Morocco had been suffering from several injury concerns coming into the match, including fullback Noussair Mazraoui and central defender Nayef Aguerd, besides their captain.
France have already netted in a goal, thanks to Theo Hernandez, but their talented forwards Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud Ousmane Dembele, and Antoine Griezmann will be looking to penetrate their defense further on in the second half of the match.
Morocco, despite their shortcomings, have put up a decent fight against the defending champions. They had 56% of ball possession in the first half compared to France’s 44%. The north African side have also managed to complete more passes (261) than their star-studded opposition (204). The major thing they are lacking is a powerful attacking force that can pose questions to the French defense.
Fans were upset after Morocco were not given a penalty around the 26th minute of the match. One fan said on Twitter, “Still wondering how Morocco didn’t get a penalty tbh”, while another asked, “Penalty not given for Morocco..around 26th min?”
Morocco are the first African nation to ever qualify for the penultimate stage of the FIFA World Cup. They can create another milestone for their continent if they manage to defeat France. The winner of the fixture will face Argentina on Sunday.
