France have destroyed Moroccan hopes of a World Cup final, securing their place against Argentina in the last match of the tournament. See Last Word on Football’s France player ratings after the match with Morocco in the World Cup semi-final.
France Player Ratings vs Morocco
Hugo Lloris – 7.5
Made several excellent saves, including stopping a spectacular overhead kick that would otherwise sneak in. A solid presence in what is sure to be his last World Cup.
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Jules Kounde – 7.5
The opposite of his compatriot on the opposite flank, providing a sturdy foundation for Ousmane Dembele to push on. It’s hardly the defender’s fault that his Barcelona teammate didn’t take advantage of the defensive solidity.
Rafael Varane – 6
Under a lot of pressure throughout the second half and showed enough quality to keep Morocco out, even if the African side did create better chances. He could struggle against better finishers in the final.
Ibrahima Konate – 6.5
Made some important interceptions that blocked promising Morocco chances, but you have to ask whether better Moroccan finishing would change the way we see the centre-back’s performance.
Theo Hernandez – 6.5
A baffling performance. Bombing down the wing in the first half gave him the first goal of the match after a fairly kind deflection. The rest of the match saw an incredibly bitty battle with Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi. A score definitely helped by his early finish.
Aurelien Tchouameni – 6
Aurelien Tchouameni played a major role in the midfield, desperately fighting to grasp control against a powerful Moroccan line. Needed support from Antoine Griezmann, but dragged control back for Les Bleus eventually.
Youssouf Fofana – 5.5
Not Didier Deschamps’ first choice in the centre of midfield. There were times where you could see why. Morocco’s dominance early in the second half came from a lack of French midfield control, which is Youssouf Fofana’s responsibility.
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Antoine Griezmann – 8.5
Another incredible performance from Antoine Griezmann, who seems to be thriving in a hybrid 8/10 role. Absolutely everywhere on the pitch and created chance after chance. Man of the match.
Ousmane Dembele – 5
There were times it was easy to forget the Barcelona winger was even on the pitch. A victim of Morocco’s control over the match, but there was a lot of potential to do more than he did against a defence decimated by injuries.
Kylian Mbappe – 7.5
The creator of the second goal after managing to draw foul after foul. Not the most standout performance Mbappe will have in his career, but far from a poor showing.
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Olivier Giroud – 6
Olivier Giroud got himself into interesting positions but wasn’t able to put any of his opportunities away. When Morocco got a grasp on the match he disappeared somewhat before coming off the pitch.
Marcus Thuram (Substitute) – 6.5
Came on in the second half to cause chaos, drawing fouls that provided Kylian Mbappe with several chances. He could be in with a shout to start if Olivier Giroud has any real issues.
Randal Kolo Muani (Substitute) – 7
Scored with his first touch, then was part of a major defensive effort at the end of the match. In spite of having very little to do, what he did went well.
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