In order to go to the World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday, France overcame an amazing performance from Morocco. Kylian Mbappe will face Lionel Messi, a teammate from Paris Saint-Germain.

Acrobatically directing the ball past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, Theo Hernandez, who replaced his injured brother Lucas on the France team for the first game, scored the opening goal after just five minutes.

Despite having a ton of possession, Morocco was unable to tie the score. Randal Kolo Muani, a substitute for France, made it 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining in regulation after some outstanding play by Kylian Mbappe.

The French team is just one win away from greatness

Thus, Qatar’s World Cup final will have a global audience as well as Qatar Sports Investments, owners of Paris Saint-Germain since 2011, salivating.

Neymar may have left after Brazil was eliminated from the quarterfinals, but Messi and Mbappe, the other outstanding members of PSG’s forward line, will face off against each other in Sunday’s championship game at the Lusail Stadium. They are vying for the Golden Boot as the tournament’s joint top scorers. More importantly, one wants to use this prize to cap off a successful career. Before turning 24, the other player is hoping to win a second World Cup.

On that particular day in Russia, the French won. As inspired as they are by Antoine Griezmann’s artistic brilliance and the power they boast throughout their forward lines, they will believe they can do so again in Qatar. With Mbappe only scoring occasionally in the final two rounds, they defeated England and Morocco. Conviction is boosted by the addition of Aurelien Tchouameni’s growing influence in the middle of the field, Raphael Varane’s shrewd and crucial defensive expertise, and Hugo Lloris, the Tottenham goalkeeper who celebrated his first home win for his nation in 13 months in this match.

France will become the first country to win the World Cup back after 60 years with one more victory.

The memories of Morocco will endure a lifetime

What a voyage for Morocco, who became the first African country to get past the quarterfinals of a World Cup and whose team displayed such bravery throughout the competition. The 2-0 scoreline gives the impression that France had a relatively easy night, but that was far from the truth. Morocco performed admirably and did not appear intimidated by the situation. Sadly, their failure to provide a final change cost them.

Their performance in front of goal was somewhat summed up by the tussle in the French penalty area in extra time that resulted in Abderrazak Hamdallah being unable to convert the ball in after the brilliant Azzedine Ounahi had his effort blocked.

Walid Regragui and his men have done their nation and continent well, and their supporters wept at the conclusion. They return home, as heroes and having made experiences that will last a lifetime.

Mbappe vs Hakimi

Being close friends off the field and teammates at Paris Saint-Germain, this matchup was certain to be exciting. Mbappe jokingly said that he would “crush” his friend if they faced off early in the year, which was a prophetic prediction of this matchup.

After shaking hands in the tunnel, the gloves were removed.

Once Griezmann had escaped in the right channel, Achraf Hakimi was at full stretch and stopped Mbappe’s attempt to sweep home inside of five minutes. 

However, Morocco was unable to eliminate the threat, and Theo Hernandez scored on the errant kick.

It was a one-way street in this duel. When the Moroccan right back, who initially played as a wingback, moved forward to support Hakim Ziyech, Mbappe had no desire to pursue Hakimi. Unsurprisingly, Morocco had no trouble attacking down the French left due to Mbappe staying high, and England focused on this area in the quarterfinal.

Start of the second half, as the Moroccan defender dove in somewhat carelessly, Mbappe went in the opposite direction and left Hakimi in his wake. 

It was a wonderful display of brilliance from the Frenchman that resulted in the game winning second goal. After initially defeating Hakimi, Mbappe weaved its way through the defense when Randal Kolo Muani scored a close-range goal.

As they exited the field, Hakimi and Mbappe—friends who still played for the same team—exchanged shirts.