France have secured their berth in the final of the 2022 Qatar World Cup after they battled to a 2-0 victory over Morocco’s Atlas Lions Wednesday night at the Al Bayt Stadium.
France’s opening goal came from an unlikely source in their left-back, Theo Hernández, who gave them the lead just five minutes into the game.
Argentina 🆚 France
The #FIFAWorldCup Final is SET! 🇦🇷🇫🇷
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 14, 2022
According to Opta, Hernández’s opener is the earliest scored by any side in a World Cup semi-final since 1958 when Vavá scored within two minutes for Brazil against France.
Though the Atlas Lions gave their all until the very last minute, their fairy tale run in Qatar was finally halted by France who are gunning to be the second team after Brazil to successfully defend their World Cup title.
France became the first defending champions to reach successive finals since Brazil in 2002. They will now bid to follow Brazil (1962) and Italy (1938) as only the third team to retain the title.
France are through to the final! 👊@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 14, 2022
This defeat ended a six-game unbeaten run at the World Cup for Morocco (W3 D3), and was their first loss at the finals since a 1-0 defeat to Portugal in the group stage in 2018.
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France are the first nation to reach back-to-back World Cup finals since Brazil in 2002, and first European country to do so since Germany in 1990.