Argentina defeat France 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Morocco need to stick away one of these chances soon otherwise they will get sucker-punched by Mbappe and France on the break.
 
Doesn’t reflect the way this game is going at all.

Morocco playing well.

Not really, they are playing very rough. They got away with a few fouls and France blew away a few chances. Yes in the last few mins in the2nd half they have been better but still not a team you would think of as dominating champions. Very dull team. In cricketing context It’s like You want Zim to win games as an underdog but you don’t want an Australia- Zim final as it will end only one way 9/10 times.
 
Morocco’s best chance is to get an equalizer. Shut shop and then take it to penalties and Hope France implodes. They can pull it off if that happens
 
France vs Argentina now that looks like a final worthy of a World Cup. No disrespect to Morocco. Well done.
 
Good effort from Morocco.

They’ll win the 3rd place match.

Brilliant fans as well.
 
France's finishing is quite ruthless, 2 shots on target and 2 goals.

Yes. A very solid side. They don’t thrash teams, but they are extremely mentally resilient and they find ways to win in the end.
 
France will always be better than England as they seem to be open to different ethnicities , England doesn't seem openly racist but clearly their teams are mostly of same ethnicity in every sport.

Glad Mbappe's family didn't decide to move to London for Chelsea.
 
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Morroco had their chances, i must have counted atleast 7-8 opportunities where they could have scored.
 
Morroco had their chances, i must have counted atleast 7-8 opportunities where they could have scored.

One was a clear offside referee missed it and they could had scored that too, so even referee's decision wasn't against them.

They couldn't utilize, although Hugo is actually very good.
 
How on earth did Morocco not score.

With a bit of luck they could have scored a couple of goals tonight.
 
Well played Atlas Lions you can be very proud off your effort.

Congratulations to France on reaching the 2nd consecutive World Cup final. Well done
 
Griezemann was outstanding tonight.

Controlled the midfield. He seemed to be everywhere on that pitch.

Such a clever and versatile footballer.
 
Morocco had a great WC and if the Moroccan origin players, coaches born/raised in Europe keep playing for them Morocco will be most consistent African/Muslim/Arab team in next 10 years.

They would had been a force in Euro but unfortunately we will never see them there.
 
Morocco had a great WC and if the Moroccan origin players, coaches born/raised in Europe keep playing for them Morocco will be most consistent African/Muslim/Arab team in next 10 years.

They would had been a force in Euro but unfortunately we will never see them there.

i doubt they will qualify for the next World Cup.
 
France were pushed all the way by World Cup wild cards Morocco before the holders sealed a place in Sunday's final against Argentina.

The first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final refused to buckle despite suffering the early blows of losing key defender Nayef Aguerd to injury after he was named in the starting line-up, and then going behind to Theo Hernandez's scrambled fifth minute goal.

France, for all Morocco's endeavour and spirit, were more clinical and substitute Kolo Muani ensured they will defend their crown against Argentina and Lionel Messi at Lusail Stadium on Sunday when he turned in Kylian Mbappe's deflected shot 11 minutes from time.

Morocco also lost the clearly unfit Romain Saiss to injury before half-time but, roared on by their fanatical support, they came close to drawing level, especially when Jawad El Yamiq's overhead kick was kept out by a combination of the post and France keeper Hugo Lloris.

France, with Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate outstanding, kept their composure in the hothouse atmosphere of Al Bayt Stadium and had chances of their own, Olivier Giroud striking the post in the first half.

Didier Deschamps' side always threatened on the break and so it proved as the lurking Muani finally broke Morocco's resistance late on.
 
Much better game than yesterday's garbage.

Morocco gave it their all but unfortunately their finishing touches were just not on the level of France's. They should be might proud of what they accomplished.
 
Argentina vs France! Messi vs Mbappe. Well played little ones but it’s time to step aside, for the big guys are back in the ring!
 
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France is the last of the virtue signalling teams in the WC.

Really do not want France to win the final after the country and its citizens were highly critical of the WC to the point they refused to watch the WC but no doubt all of France will be tuning in on Sunday, including Eric Cantona
 
The greatest of all time playing his last World Cup match vs the next great player in world football hoping to win back to back World Cups.

Hopefully the final lives up to the expectations. What a spectacle it promises to be.
 
France is the last of the virtue signalling teams in the WC.

Really do not want France to win the final after the country and its citizens were highly critical of the WC to the point they refused to watch the WC but no doubt all of France will be tuning in on Sunday, including Eric Cantona

Tbf to France, the captain refused to wear the OneLove armband before the yellow cards became clear.

France has a lot of Muslim players.

Sure, their government is nothing short of fascist and much of their population are bitter, hate filled individuals.

Regardless this will be a historic final. Either France will defend the cup for the first time since Brazil or Messi will lift it for the first time ever.

France are favourites to me but it could go either way.

Messi winning it will make his claim to be GOAT very strong but for me Diego was one of a kind.
 
Tbf to France, the captain refused to wear the OneLove armband before the yellow cards became clear.

France has a lot of Muslim players.

Sure, their government is nothing short of fascist and much of their population are bitter, hate filled individuals.

Regardless this will be a historic final. Either France will defend the cup for the first time since Brazil or Messi will lift it for the first time ever.

France are favourites to me but it could go either way.

Messi winning it will make his claim to be GOAT very strong but for me Diego was one of a kind.

True, Messi could win the WC and the Golden Boot, but Maradonna will remain The GOAT. That 1 goal in 86 QF is worth all of Messi's WC career goals.
 
Some key battles for the final.

Mbappe v Messi as the best players.

Alvarez v Konate - Konate is a giant of a player, quick too.

Keepers will be key too - Lloris v Martinez - Both great shot stoppers. Arteta got rid of a world cup finalist keeper . :))

Bottom line here.. both will have great chances to score, those who do will win.

If I had to put money on it, France.
 
True, Messi could win the WC and the Golden Boot, but Maradonna will remain The GOAT. That 1 goal in 86 QF is worth all of Messi's WC career goals.


In the next cup, 1990 Diego was a coke/alcohol addict but still got them to the final, this is how good he was lol.
 

Here are opinions of Argentinian fans regarding who is better between Messi and Maradona. Some said Messi and some said Maradona.
 
I haven't been impressed with France at all in this tournament. Neither have I been impressed with Argentina, but they have Messi, so I going for a 1-0 Argentina win with Messi scoring the winner.
 
I haven't been impressed with France at all in this tournament. Neither have I been impressed with Argentina, but they have Messi, so I going for a 1-0 Argentina win with Messi scoring the winner.

I think Argentina were superb after their 1-2 defeat against KSA. France were not fluent but they got the job done.
 
I think Argentina were superb after their 1-2 defeat against KSA. France were not fluent but they got the job done.

The opening day defeat to Saudi Arabia was just a blip. Argentina were unbeaten for 30 something matches coming into the world cup.

France has so much talent. The individual quality of their players is second to none. They are missing Benzema, Kante, Pogba, Lucas Hernandez and Kimpembe, yet it doesn't feel like they are missing anyone. Even when they don't play well as a team, the individual quality of their players gets them over the line, more often than not.
 
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France scratched it very lucky!, all round 2006 French team were more deserving of trophy than this lot, Magical Messi to ruin the party
 
The dream is over but there was no sadness, just sheer pride.

Morocco have lit up this World Cup with an unexpected run to the semi-finals, where their hopes of a shock triumph were crushed by defending champions France.

Walid Regragui's men had made history by becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach this stage of the competition, but ultimately they came up short.

Theo Hernandez's goal after five minutes was the worst possible start for Morocco and substitute Randal Kolo Muani added a second late on as France set up a meeting with Argentina in Sunday's final

"We pulled out the stops and gave everything," said Regragui. "We did cause them problems and that is quite an achievement.

"My players gave a very good image of the team, a showcase of their quality. It is difficult to take, they wanted to rewrite history books.

"You can't win a World Cup by miracles, only by hard work and that is what we will keep doing."

Morocco fans had taken over Souq Waqif in Doha earlier in the day.

This is the melting pot of Qatar's capital city where fans from all the competing nations congregate, though a France shirt was a rare sight on this occasion.

Moroccans had travelled in their numbers and extra flights were laid on for the semi-final by national carrier Royal Air Maroc.

Some were being interviewed by various TV and radio stations from around the world, others sipped on local karak tea.

The waft of flavoured shisha tobacco filled the air as they smoked the afternoon away to settle the nerves.

The Al Bayt stadium could have been mistaken for a home match in Casablanca, the small pocket of French fans behind the goal vastly outnumbered by their counterparts in red shirts waving their red flags.

The sheer volume of noise created by the north African side's following was cranked up before kick-off when those familiar piercing whistles echoed around the stadium as the France teamsheet was read out.

They were silenced just five minutes into the contest when left-back Hernandez converted, leaving supporters watching on in disbelief at a shocking start - the first time they had been behind at this World Cup.

The fans roused themselves and continued to sing "Dima Maghreb (forever Morocco)" as they had done throughout the tournament, but Kolo Muani delivered a final blow.

"I've loved this," said former England defender Micah Richards on BBC One. "This is one of my favourite games of the World Cup.

"The crowd is brilliant and the atmosphere has been absolutely electric."

Former England captain Alan Shearer added: "Morocco can be very, very proud of what they've done and achieved, and the effort that they've put in, not just today but in the whole tournament.

"Their fans have had a fantastic time and really enjoyed it. Their team have just come short because of their lack of quality in the final third."

The World Cup third-fourth place play-off is a match often dubbed as the one no-one wants to be involved in.

Try telling that to Morocco.

They have claimed victories over European heavyweights such as Belgium, Spain and Portugal and beating Croatia at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday will seal a totally unexpected third place.

Ex-Southampton winger Sofiane Boufal and Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri prayed together on the pitch before kick-off, but divine intervention was absent.

Morocco have won hearts worldwide with the passion of their fans and progress on the pitch.

Post-match celebrations have gone viral, whether that be kissing their mums in the stands or dancing with them on the pitch.

But there was understandable disappointment here, a jubilant Kylian Mbappe swapped shirts and shared a warm embrace with dejected Paris St-Germain team-mate Achraf Hakimi.

Meanwhile, captain Romain Saiss - who went off injured early in the game - returned to the pitch one last time while carrying his son, surveying the scene pondering what could have been.

Injury issues have proven extremely costly for Morocco, as they also lost West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd before kick-off and Bayern Munich full-back Noussair Mazraoui was taken off at half-time.

In the end, players bowed down for sujood (prostration) in front of their faithful, slowly applauding them before exiting the stage.

"Saturday is what they call a losers' game," Morocco fan Mohammed, from near Rabat, told BBC Sport. "A third-place finish would mean the world to us because we have achieved the unexpected.

"There are no tears today because we are so proud of what these players have done for the fans and the country."

Regragui added: "Maybe it was one step too far, physically we came up short and had too many players at 60 or 70% fitness and have been for a few games now.

"We realise we made a great achievement. We saw the pictures in the media, television and social media and saw everyone was proud of us. We wanted to keep the Moroccan people's dream alive and we are disappointed.

"We felt we could have gone even further, but these small details the true champions win.

"We have given a good image of our country and African football. We were representing our continent. People always respected us, but maybe they will respect us more now."
 
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2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar: Matchday & Tournament Thread

Morocco kept creating chances, kept creating great pressure, but that one final touch to all the chances created didn´t come in the end. It´s football, and creating even a chance every minute holds no value on the scoreboard if you don´t score a goal. It looked all the while as if that goal will come, but it never did. Still, though, Morocco can be most proud of an absolute dream journey. They beat some really, really, strong teams and gave their fans, as well as football lovers around the world, a lot to cheer about. I hope that this was a beginning, instead of an end. I really hope that this brilliant performance proves to be a foundation for general improvement at the game for the whole country and that we see more of them in the World Cups to come.

Congratulations to France! The Final promises to be an absolute cracker. Here´s hoping for a great, great, game. I would, ideally, scrap the match for the third place, though. What´s the purpose of such a pointless match?

In another news, German channel ZDF´s most senior commentator, Bela Rethy has retired from commentary as yesterday´s Semi-Final was his last match as a commentator. He seemed to be in tears when the whole team of experts bade him farewell. It seems as if a big part of my teenage life and the years that followed too have retired with him. His views and thoughts on the game never mattered to me, I never focused on all that, as my attention was fully fixed on his magical voice, a voice made for commentary. Watching matches with his commentary used to feel much at home and at ease, somehow. I´ll surely miss his voice. Here´s wishing him all the best for the years ahead!
 
Morocco played quite well but in pure footballing terms a final between France and Argentina is the more tantalising prospect than if Morocco had qualified.

I dont think the Morrocans see the 3rd place play off as a meaningless game. They will come out swinging and its perhaps Modric's last game for Croatia in a world cup so perhaps it will be fun to watch.

The Morrocans and their Qatari supporters will no doubt create a great atmosphere.

For the final I am rooting for Argentina simply because this fnatastic world cup deserves a fairy tale ending and there is no better story than Argentina. From losing to Saudi to improving game after game until hopefully Messi picks up the trophy it will have been an incredible journey.
 
Morocco were outstanding all tournament, even though they came up short, they were going toe to toe with the current world champions. France just about escaped with victory. Morocco were creative with their passing and pressure but their finishing could have been a little more adventurous. There will be more to come from the Atlas Lions, their country has invested quiet a bit in footy and after this tournament, a generation would have been inspired. The challengers for the players will be to keep their edge because there will be some handsome offers from the big clubs around the world.
 
France is the better team of the two but Argentina have Messi, good luck to France for winning the trophy.
 
2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar: Matchday & Tournament Thread

I must give a special mention here to the French goal-keeper Hugo Lloris. If not for a pretty solid performance by him, Morocco would´ve been able to equalise and possibly even gone past the French twice had it not been for him. On the other hand, some of the passes by Morocco were world class, and it didn´t seem like as if they´re inexperienced campaigners. Hugely impressive, but that final touch was missing throughout, sadly.

We had nail-biting Quarter-Finals, but the Semi-Finals, on the other hand, weren´t that tense. Here´s hoping for a cracker of a Final, and may the best team win. I´m undecided on whom to support, therefore I´m simply going to really hope for a Final for ages to remember. I´ll be honest here to add that, going into the last three World Cup Finals (from 2010 to 2018), there was a sense of knowing it to an extent as to who the winner will be - and I was pretty confident of Germany as well turning up on the big day back in 2014 because I, personally, didn´t rate that Argentinian team too highly. However, in my opinion, it is the first Final after the one in 2006 which is so evenly poised. It´s so tough to call, if you ask me. Somehow, I´m getting this feeling that we´ll have a goal in the first half. Besides that, I´m getting this feeling that I should pick Argentina´s Enzo Fernandez as a key player. May the best team win!
 
Fifa to revisit format of 2026 World Cup

Big news.

Gianni Infaninto has confirmed that Fifa will revisit, or at least, discuss the format of the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

The format for that tournament is due to be 16 three-team groups, with the top two progressing to the knockout stages.

"I have to say after this World Cup, and the success of the groups of four, we have to revisit or rediscuss the format whether we go for 16 groups of three or 12 groups of four," says Infantino.

==

In his opening remarks Gianni Infantino confirmed that Fifa's budget for the next four-year cycle was going to be $11 billion (about £9m).

He is asked to expand on how that budget will be spent, and the reason for the 50% uplift.

“We are bullish about the power of football," said Infantino. "About what we believe the impact of football, or soccer, we are more than bullish.

"We are convinced the impact of the game will be massive. It has been massive here, it will be incredible in North America: 48 teams, more games, revenues will go up.

"We will play in huge stadiums, stadiums which are normally used for American football – 80-90,000. A lot of attractions for fans – we are expecting 5.5m fans travelling for these events. We are convinced football will be booming in North America. We are really convinced of the growth."

==
 
More from Gianni Infantino, who is asked about whether this World Cup will have the "transformative change" it set out to achieve:

“I will wait until the end of the final to judge this World Cup but already the transformative legacy of this World Cup is that many people from around the world have come to Qatar and have discovered the Arab world, which they didn’t know or knew only for what was portrayed to them.

"The main legacy is those who came and those who were to welcome. You can spend time together and enjoy, and know each better. These people who go home will speak about their experience and will open up more to the others. This is an important non-football legacy, this World Cup has brought.

"One of gthe main concerns was linked with safety and security, 32 countries all here at the same time and same place. We didn’t know how the people would react? Would they start fighting with each other?

"We have seen human beings are mentally good and positive, because people just come together and the more international the better. They come together to pursue their passion. We had no single incident, this is quite unique.

"The World Cup has contributed a little to a mutual understanding – it is something very positive from a non-football perspective.

"I could speak for a few hours about the football legacy."
 
14,000 Cops Across France On Guard For Troublemakers During World Cup Final

Around 14,000 police officers will be on duty across France on Sunday to guarantee security as Les Bleus take on Argentina in the World Cup final, officials said Friday.

The security operation, presented to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin publicly on Friday, will see a concentration of forces in Paris, where huge crowds are expected in the event of victory.

The Champs-Elysees avenue was the scene of vast celebrations during France's previous World Cup triumphs in 1998 and 2018, with 600,000 people cheering and dancing there four years ago.

The avenue will be closed to traffic on Sunday and 2,750 officers will be stationed in the vicinity.

Sub-zero temperatures and rain, which are forecast for Sunday, could dampen any party, however, as would a victory for Argentina and their inspirational Paris-based playmaker Lionel Messi.

Police will be on their guard for troublemakers, after around 40 far-right sympathisers arrested on Wednesday evening as they attempted to join a crowd of revellers after France beat Morocco in the semi-final.

"They had come to start a fight," Darmanin told reporters.

Around 115 people were arrested in total after the Morocco game in Paris, and clashes also took place last Saturday after France's quarter-final victory when police fired teargas to disperse the crowd.

The aftermath of Wednesday's game was also marred by the death of a 14-year-old boy in the southern city of Montpellier who was hit by a car carrying supporters.

The driver of a white hatchback involved in the accident is still being sought by police.

A fatal accident took place in 2019 in the same poverty-hit area of the city, Paillade, when a driver lost control of his vehicle and hit a mother and her baby after an Africa Cup of Nations game.

A total of 12,800 police officers will also be deployed in France on Saturday for the third-place run-off game between Morocco and Croatia.

NDTV
 
14,000 Cops Across France On Guard For Troublemakers During World Cup Final

Around 14,000 police officers will be on duty across France on Sunday to guarantee security as Les Bleus take on Argentina in the World Cup final, officials said Friday.

The security operation, presented to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin publicly on Friday, will see a concentration of forces in Paris, where huge crowds are expected in the event of victory.

The Champs-Elysees avenue was the scene of vast celebrations during France's previous World Cup triumphs in 1998 and 2018, with 600,000 people cheering and dancing there four years ago.

The avenue will be closed to traffic on Sunday and 2,750 officers will be stationed in the vicinity.

Sub-zero temperatures and rain, which are forecast for Sunday, could dampen any party, however, as would a victory for Argentina and their inspirational Paris-based playmaker Lionel Messi.

Police will be on their guard for troublemakers, after around 40 far-right sympathisers arrested on Wednesday evening as they attempted to join a crowd of revellers after France beat Morocco in the semi-final.

"They had come to start a fight," Darmanin told reporters.

Around 115 people were arrested in total after the Morocco game in Paris, and clashes also took place last Saturday after France's quarter-final victory when police fired teargas to disperse the crowd.

The aftermath of Wednesday's game was also marred by the death of a 14-year-old boy in the southern city of Montpellier who was hit by a car carrying supporters.

The driver of a white hatchback involved in the accident is still being sought by police.

A fatal accident took place in 2019 in the same poverty-hit area of the city, Paillade, when a driver lost control of his vehicle and hit a mother and her baby after an Africa Cup of Nations game.

A total of 12,800 police officers will also be deployed in France on Saturday for the third-place run-off game between Morocco and Croatia.

NDTV

It is silly that people go nuts over a game of football like this. It is not like they themselves are playing.
 
Morocco can be proud they are playing a seventh game at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, even though it is not Sunday's final, says head coach Walid Regragui.

Their history-making run saw them become the first African nation to reach the semi-finals, but they were beaten by France on Wednesday.

On Saturday, they face Croatia in the match to decide who finishes third.

"We would like things to have gone differently and played in the final," said Regragui.

"There is another game to play, we would like to be on the podium.

"I understand it's important to finish third rather than fourth, but my takeaway is we didn't reach the final. We wanted to play the final on Sunday, not play tomorrow.

"But I told my players this is our seventh World Cup game. If you told any Morocco fan we would be playing our seventh game on 17 December, they would be proud.

"Morocco played six World Cup games in 20-odd years and now we've played six games in a month - this is priceless. It's as if we played two World Cups or even more, that's beautiful from an experience point of view."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63926145
 
Croatia make five changes to the side that were beaten by Argentina in the semi-finals.

Josip Stanisic, Josip Sutalo, Mislav Orsic, Marko Livaja, Lovro Majer all come in with Josip Juranovic, Dejan Lovren, Borna Sosa, Marcelo Brozovic and Mario Pasalic dropping out.

Luka Modric captain's the side, playing alongside Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic.

Croatia XI: Livakovic, Stanisic, Gvardiol, Sutalo, Majer, Kovacic, Modric, Perisic, Livaja, Orsic, Kramaric.

Morocco make three changes to the side that were beaten by France last time out.

Former Hudderfield winger Abdelhamid Sabiri gets a start, as does Yahya Attiat-Allah and Bilal El Khannouss.

Injured skipper Romain Saiss misses out, as does Bayern Munich full-back Noussair Mazraoui.

The brilliant breakout star of the tournament Azzedine Ounahi is on the bench, while West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd is not deemed fit enough to start.

Chelsea forward Hakim Ziyech takes the captain's armband.

Morocco XI: Bounou, Hakimi, Dari, El Yamiq, Attiat-Allah, Amrabat, El Khannouss, Ziyech (c), Sabiri, Boufal, En-Nesyri.
 
3rd position match is pointless. It is like a participation trophy match.

But, I hope Morocco will win.
 
Morocco playing well, but 3rd place matches are usually open and exciting. So watch out for more goals.
 
What was Bono thinking!

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What was Bono thinking!

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That could have been a real moment of embarrassment for Bono, LOL
 
GOAL, Croatia scores 2-1 to Croatia.

Goal of the tournament?

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Goal of the tournament?

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Not sure about being the best but it was a great goal, especially from that angle.
 
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