The Atlas Lions’ Cinderella run faces off with France’s title defense in the World Cup semifinals. Follow along.
France’s World Cup title defense goes head-to-head against Morocco’s Cinderella run at the 2022 World Cup in Wednesday’s semifinal.
With Lionel Messi and Argentina waiting in the final after a 3–0 win over Croatia on Tuesday, the Atlas Lions will first have to deal with Kylian Mbappé, who is tied with Messi atop the Golden Boot charts with five goals in Qatar.
Morocco has made a habit out of stunning European giants, topping a group that included Croatia and Belgium while sending Spain and Portugal home in the knockouts. With the win over Portugal, Morocco became the first African team to ever qualify for the semifinal, all while not allowing a single goal outside of an own goal against Canada.
Meanwhile, Les Bleus are coming off their first real challenge after defeating England, 2–1, in a tight quarterfinal in which the Three Lions largely outplayed France. But a missed Harry Kane penalty that would’ve tied the match in the 84th minute proved to be the difference.
Follow along here for live updates and highlights of goals and key plays from throughout the match (refresh for most recent updates).
Here are the lineups for both sides:
Full World Cup squads
France
GOALKEEPERS: Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Steve Mandanda (Rennes)
DEFENDERS: Axel Disasi (Monaco), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Jules Koundé (Barcelona), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Raphaël Varane (Manchester United)
MIDFIELDERS: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Monaco), Mattéo Guendouzi (Marseille), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Jordan Veretout (Marseille)
FORWARDS: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid), Kylian Mbappé (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt), Marcus Thuram (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
COACH: Didier Deschamps
Morocco
GOALKEEPERS: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla), Munir Mohamedi (Al Wehda), Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Wydad AC)
DEFENDERS: Nayef Aguerd (West Ham), Yahia Attiyat Allah (Wydad AC), Badr Benoun (Qatar SC), Achraf Dari (Brest), Jawad El Yamiq (Real Valladolid), Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich), Roman Saiss (Besiktas)
MIDFIELDERS: Selim Amallah (Standard Liege), Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina), Bilal El Khannous (Genk), Yahya Jabrane (Wydad AC), Azzedine Ounahi (Angers), Abdelhamid Sabiri (Sampdoria), Anass Zaroury (Burnley)
FORWARDS: Abde Ezzalzouli (Osasuna), Zakaria Aboukhlal (Toulouse), Sofiane Boufal (Angers), Ilias Chair (Queens Park Rangers), Walid Cheddira (Bari), Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla), Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Ittihad), Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea)
Midfielder Amine Harit was hurt playing for Marseille after initially being selected and was forced to withdraw from the competition.
COACH: Walid Regragui
