Memos 
Live events & webinars 
Trend Reports
Morocco's historic run at the World Cup in Doha came to an end on Wednesday as the men's team lost to France 2-0. Morocco defied all odds at the soccer tournament, defeating Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal to make it to the semifinals in a first for an African and Arabic-speaking country.
France’s Theo Hernandez scored just four minutes into the game, the fastest goal in a World Cup semifinal since 1958. Randol Kolo Muani then scored again at around 80 minutes in to put France up 2-0.
Two of France’s players, Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano, got sick before the match and had to sit out.
BACK TO BACK WORLD CUP FINAL. 🇫🇷
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) December 14, 2022
Morocco had several scoring opportunities early in the second half but ultimately failed to score on France.
Morocco's historic run gained them many fans across the Middle East and North Africa. Even many Algerian soccer fans were rooting for Morocco. Algeria and Morocco have tense relations due to the conflict over Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.
The Moroccan squad also received favorable press coverage in the Middle East for waving Palestinian flags after their matches.
There are many ties between the French and Moroccan teams. Some of the Moroccan squad, including coach Walid Regragui, are from France but of Moroccan origin. Moroccan star Achraf Hakimi and France’s Kylian Mbappe are good friends from their time playing for Paris Saint-Germain together.
France will face Lionel Messi and Argentina in the final on Sunday in Doha.
The 2022 World Cup was the first to be held in the Middle East. Qatar received considerable criticism in the lead-up to the tournament over its human rights record, but many people in the region were happy to finally see a World Cup on their turf.
