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The Moroccan and French soccer teams will face off in a historic World Cup semifinal in Doha on Wednesday.
The match will begin at 2 p.m. ET at Al Bayt Stadium. France won the last World Cup in 2018, and many soccer analysts are picking France to win. However, underdog Morocco was not favored to win against Spain in round 16 and Portugal in the quarterfinals, but won both games.
Morocco became the first team from North Africa or the Middle East to reach a World Cup semifinal last week when it defeated Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal. Morocco has received heavy coverage in Arab media as a result, and many people from the region and the African continent are rooting for it.
🇲🇦👑🫶🏽… @AchrafHakimi pic.twitter.com/fDCyfMI7LM
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) December 6, 2022
France is looking to become only the third country ever to win back-to-back World Cups. Italy did so in 1938, Brazil in 1962. The tournament began in 1930.
Morocco and France have deep historic ties from when Morocco was a French colony in the 20th century. Following independence, hundreds of thousands of Moroccans immigrated to France.
The result of this relationship is apparent in the makeup of the Moroccan squad. Coach Walid Regragui was born in France to Moroccan parents, though he played for Morocco at the international level. Moroccan players Sofiane Boufal and Romain Saiss are also Frenchmen of Moroccan origin.
In fact, roughly half of the Moroccan roster consists of European players of Moroccan heritage. Four players are from Belgium and another four are from the Netherlands. Another two are from Spain, including star Achraf Hakimi.
Some of the Moroccan and French players know each other from playing for Europe’s top soccer clubs together. Hakimi and French star Kylian Mbappe are good friends. The two play for Paris Saint-Germain together.
The winner of the Morocco-France match will face Lionel Messi and Argentina in the World Cup final. Argentina shut out Croatia 3-0 Tuesday.
