Roberto Morales: "The Moroccan national team is a team that will be studied as a global phenomenon"

Well-known journalist Roberto Morales told what he expects from one of the matches of the 1/2 finals of the 2022 World Cup, in which France and Morocco will play today.

“A purely French semi-final. Everyone has already seen how the Moroccans celebrated the victory of their team in France. Now they are aiming for even more. Yes, and many players of this team went through the school of French football to varying degrees. And the sensational coach of this World Cup, Walid Regragui, is an absolute product of French football.

The most sensational semi-finalist of all the world championships, the Moroccan team was also the first African team to go so far in the world championships. The Moroccans overcame the barrier of perception of the African teams and guaranteed the maximum possible number of matches in Qatar. This is a team that will be studied as a global phenomenon.

It has really become a big trend for national teams in defense. She played five matches and still has not allowed any opponent to get into her goal. The only goal conceded was an own goal by Naif Ager in the third group round match against Canada and the score was 2:0.

As for France, everything is very clear. The tricolors are confidently going through the tournament, they have a high-class attack and enough diverse players in the center of the field. There are certain nuances in defensive actions. Although it is not worth looking purely at the statistics. France knows how to generate a game and take advantage of other people's weaknesses. In this championship, this is the strongest team in all respects.

Morocco writes its own history and the history of the whole African continent, but one should also talk about the historical nuances of France's performance. For the first time since 1998, the reigning world champion reached the semi-finals of the tournament. The tricolors keep the chance to take a shot at something more - the first time in almost sixty years to defend the title. Morocco looks like a feasible rival for the French, but it just won't be. Much will depend on the performance of Kylian Mbappe. He is still that virtuoso, however, in the match with the Africans, first of all, conversion will come in handy. Olivier Giroud can still be useful here, who holds the second consecutive outstanding world championship, but, unlike in 2018, this time he scores, and not just “carrying the piano,” said Morales.