They came, they fought hard, but alas, injuries, fatigue and a determined France stopped Morocco from making history as the first country outside Europe and South America to play in the final game of the World Cup.
Morocco, which accounted for the exit of both Portugal and Spain from the ongoing World Cup in Qatar, found France too tough a knot to untie in a match many of the neutrals prayed they win to continue their fairy tale run in the competition.
Signs of the tough task ahead of the Africans started manifesting even before kick off at the Al Bayt Stadium, when dependable defender, Nayef Aguerd, pulled out of the clash due to injury.
The West Ham star was named in the starting XI but commentators only realised he wasn’t playing when the match began. Injury got the better of him.
Soon after kickoff and a goal down due to defensive mix up in the early minutes, inspirational captain, Ramon Saiss, also left the game as he succumbed to the thigh injury that forced his substitution in the quarterfinals.
Morocco made history by becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, but got off to the worst possible start as Theo Hernandez opened the scoring after just five minutes.
Thereafter, the Atlas Lions took the fight to the defending champions, but a combination of poor marksmanship and good goalkeeping by Hugo Iloris kept them at bay.
Neutral fans thought the Moroccans had earned a penalty when Hernandez ‘fouled’ Sofiane Boufal in the box, but instead, referee Cesar Ramos booked Boufal for stopping the French defender.
The incident happened midway through the first half, when Hakim Ziyech found space inside Hernandez. The French defender then recovered, before a heavy touch inside the box saw him collide with Boufal.
Apart from that incident, Morocco had chances top get the equalizer but they could not find the strike, even when they got into the French box.
The second half continued in the same pattern with France defending stoutly as the Moroccans swarmed forward.
And then fatigue set in for the Atlas Lions, who were forced to take pot shots from outside the French box.
Second half substitute, Randal Kolo Muani, made it 2-0 when he scored from close range after Kylian Mbappe’s deflected shot fell into his path.
The second goal stuffed off what energy was left in the brave Moroccans, who can hold their heads high for a brilliant campaign.
The battle is not over yet for the Lions, as they still have the bronze medal to fight for against Croatia on Saturday.
France will face Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final in a meeting that will pit Paris Saint-Germain superstars Kylian Mbappe and Messi against each other.
