FRANCE look to reach their second consecutive World Cup final as they face underdogs Morocco in the semis TONIGHT.
Les Bleus overcame England 2-1 in the quarter-finals, while the African side beat Portugal in a tense affair.
And now Kylian Mbappe and Co come up against a Moroccan side which features his PSG team-mate Achraf Hakimi and Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech.
- Kick-off: 7pm UK time
- TV channel: BBC One
- Live stream: BBC iPlayer
- France XI: To follow…
- Morocco XI: To follow…
BETTING SPECIAL – GET £40 IN WORLD CUP BONUSES
Follow ALL of the latest updates below…
Three is a crowd
Only two countries have retained the World Cup since the tournament first began in 1930.
Italy retained the trophy way back in 1938 and Brazil did the same in 1962.
So no country has reclaimed their prize in over 60 years which is incredible.
France will be itching to break that long spell but they have to get past a stubborn Moroccan side first.
SunSport’s big match prediciton
Will it be the surprise package Morocco?
Will it be the reigning champs France?
SunSport have made their predicition…
And it is 2-0 to France.
Credit: Getty France vs Morocco – head-to-head
France boss the head-to-head record 7-3 with one draw.
That solo Morocco victory came in their first meeting way back in April 1963.
The 2-2 draw in November 2007 ended a run of five straight French victories – Samir Nasri was on the scoresheet in Paris as Marouane Chamakh led the line for the away side.
World Cup final referee – latest
Anthony Taylor will discover on Friday if he is to become the fourth Englishman to referee a World Cup Final.
Altrincham’s Taylor is one of the remaining contenders for the most prestigious appointment in world football.
That was after he was one of the 12 officials to stay in Qatar for the final stages of the tournament.
And with refs’ chief Pierluigi Collina a big fan of Taylor’s man and game-management skills, the 44-year-old is thought to be a genuine contender for the job.
Taylor has not been involved in a knock-out match at the tournament.
Credit: Getty Why is N’Golo Kante not playing for France?
The Chelsea star been sidelined for four months due to a hamstring injury suffered during a 2-2 draw with Tottenham in August.
The injury has meant Kante will miss the opportunity to help France to become only the third side to retain the World Cup.
Providing all goes will with the 31-year-olds recovery, it looks likely we will see him return to action soon after the season proceeds.
Credit: AFP France’s stars of the show
So far, Mbappe and Giroud are the men who have contributed to most of Les Bleus’ goals.
But Antoine Griezmann’s underlying stats suggests he’s on the most important players in the side too.
Who will be the star men?
Kylian Mbappe is the major threat for France – but as England found out, it is dangerous to give too much space to Antoine Griezmann, Aurelien Tchouameni or Giroud as they can all cause problems.
Adrien Rabiot and Ousmane Dembele are also performing well – Morocco’s defence will need to be water tight again.
Achraf Hakimi and Hakim Ziyech are the standout names for the Atlas Lions but Sofyan Amrabat is enjoying a superb tournament while Youssef En-Nesyri continues to hurt opponents up front.
Credit: AP Credit: Splash What is the team news?
Didier Deschamps could be forced into two changes after an illness bug swept round the France camp.
Both central defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielder Adrien Rabiot were unable to train yesterday and are thought to be serious doubts.
And that results in Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate and Youssef Fofana being on standby.
As for Morocco, Regragui has some important calls to make at the back.
Romain Saiss went off on a stretcher against Portugal then Walid Cheddira got himself red carded so they will both be out.
Defenders Noussair Mazraoui and Nayef Aguerd missed the quarter-final but may be fit again now – although replacements Yahia Attiyat Allah and Jawad El Yamiq both shone.
Credit: Reuters How did they get here?
France beat Australia 4-1 and then Denmark 2-1 to book their place in the knockout rounds before their 1-0 defeat to Tunisia.
A 3-1 win in the last 16 was enough to see off Poland before the holders came up against England but Olivier Giroud’s header followed by Kane’s penalty miss saw France edge through.
Morocco started off with a 0-0 draw against fellow semi-finalists Croatia then beat Belgium 2-0 and Canada 2-1 to top Group F.
They then drew 0-0 with Spain in the last 16 and won the shootout 3-0 before a 1-0 victory to end Portugal’s campaign and become the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final.
Welcome to France vs Morocco!
Hello and welcome to SunSport’s live coverage of France vs Morocco in the World Cup!
That’s right, we’re days away from the final now and Morocco are STILL in the tournament.
They face a historic semi-final clash with reigning world champions Les Bleus, who beat England in the quarters.
France have been clinical so far in Qatar, winning their games with poise and ruthlessness, but Morocco are planning to upset the applecart.
The African nation topped a group which contained Belgium, Croatia and Canada.
And then they knocked out Spain on penalties in the last-16 before dispatching of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarter-finals.
One big battle that fans are looking forward to witnessing is Kylian Mbappe’s clash with PSG team-mate Achraf Hakimi.
Hakimi scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Spain and will be tasked with trying to spot his pal tonight.
Mbappe, however, is joint-top scorer, alongside Lionel Messi, at the World Cup, and he’ll be out to pull clear tonight.
So kick back and enjoy all of the action, we’ve got you covered here at SunSport HQ.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
