France vs Morocco live World Cup score, highlights, result from 2022 semi final as Hernandez gives Les Bleus halftime edge

By | December 14, 2022
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Theo Hernandez fired France into an early lead in their World Cup semifinal against Morocco at Al Bayt Stadium.

Walid Regragui’s side had only conceded once in the tournament heading into Wednesday’s match but there was a bit of uncharacteristic chaos within their backline after Antoine Griezmann got down the right flank in the fifth minute. Hernandez was the beneficiary, finding an acrobatic finish when Kylian Mbappe’s second attempt at goal cannoned off Olivier Giroud.

France are attempting to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1962 and Giroud almost doubled their lead when he thumped against the post before Morocco lost captain Romain Saiss to a recurrence of his thigh injury.

But the Atlas Lions finished the first half on the front foot, as Jawad El Yamiq – whose early slip let in Griezmann – hit the upright with an overhead kick.

Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights for France vs. Morocco at the 2022 World Cup. Follow below for complete results from the semifinal match in Qatar.

MORE: Best bets for France vs. Morocco

France vs Morocco live score

  1H 2H Final
France 1 1 โ€”
Morocco 0 0 โ€”

Goals:
FRA โ€” Theo Hernandez โ€” 5th min.

FRA โ€” Randal Kolo Muani โ€” 79th min.

Lineups:

France (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) โ€” 5. Kounde, 4. Varane, 24. Konate, 22. T. Hernandez โ€” 8. Tchouameni, 13. Fofana โ€” 11. Dembele, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappe โ€” 9. Giroud

Morocco (5-4-1, right to left): 1. Bono (GK) โ€” 2. Hakimi, 18. El Yamiq, 20. Dari, 6. Saiss, 3. Mazraoui  โ€” 7. Ziyech, 8. Ounahi, 4. Amrabat, 17. Boufal โ€”19. En-Nesyri

MORE: Watch every World Cup match live with fuboTV (U.S.-only free trial)

France vs Morocco live updates, highlights from 2022 World Cup

79th minute: GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! Randal Kolo Muani!!!

Not a bad time to score your first international goal. Kylian Mbappe fashions some room to shoot with quick feet. His effort is half blocked but it falls to Kolo Muani to tap home at the back post. France are heading back to the final.

78th minute:  Abderrazak Hamdallah is a bit of a random factor. He’s down the France right now, does some stepovers but duffs his cross into the side netting from a good position. Abde Ezzalzouli is on for Selim Amallah for Morocco, while Randal Kolo Muani comes on for his fourth France cap.

76th minute: An incredible twinkled-toed run by Morocco substitute Abderrazak Hamdallah, but why doesn’t he shoot? France are eventually able to scramble clear after Raphael Varane gets a foot in.

74th minute: Sofyan Amrabat loses possession to Youssouf Fofana. The France midfielder exchanges passes with Marcus Thuram and lashes wide. A pass to Kylian Mbappe looked to be on inside.

72nd minute: Oohhh, another good set piece from Antoine Griezmann and Marcus Thuram should score. He can’t make a clean headed contact.

70th minute: France tend to play in bursts and we might be in the middle of one now. Ousmane Dembele get going down the right and Noussair Mazraoui makes an important challenge.

69th minute: Auxilary defender Antoine Griezmann whips in a free-kick from the left after Achraf Hakim fouls Marcus Thuram. France keep the attack alive and Kylian Mbappe’s shot is blocked.

67th minute: Early opportunity for Aboukal, who gets a touch on a ball into the six-yard box but Lloris catches.

66th minute: A couple of surprising substitutions: Marcus Thuram has replaced Olivier Giroud, with Didier Deschamps perhaps thinking there will be more and more spaces left by Morocco on the break, while the impressive Sofiane Boufal is off and Zakaria Aboukal comes on. 

63rd minute: Morocco are zeroing in on France’s left flank. Sofiane Boufal gets involved in the fun with Hakim Ziyech this time, only for Antoine Griezmann to again get back for some vital defending. He’s just invaluable to Didier Deschamps.

57th minute: Antoine Griezmann now gets back to scramble clear after Hakim Ziyech orchestrates another fine Morocco attack down the France left. Meanwhile, Mbappe needs treatment on his ankle after a challenge from Achraf Dari. he needs to change his boot and that might just give his teammates time to clear their heads.

54th minute: Another-almost chance for En-Nesyri. More last-ditch defending from Ibrahima Konate. The Morocco fans are making some serious noise, even by their standards.

53rd minute: After tha early France flurry, Morocco are back all over them. Sofiane Boufal puts a dangerous cross into the box that Youssef En-Nesyri just can’t get on the end of.

51st minute: Another Morocco attack but Mbappe charges away on the break. He’s at full flight down the left, but Sofyan Amrabat flies into an incredible tackle. He was off the floor a little, so pushing the boundaries of what’s allowed nowadays. But that’s a sensational piece of defending. The Morocco fans went wild.

50th minute: Hakim Ziyech stands up Theo Hernandez and darts past him to cross. His low delivery is cleared by Ibrahima Konate.

49th minute: France definitely want to put this one to bed after their dicey end to the first half. Antoine Griezmann looks for Kylian Mbappe with a through ball but Bono gets there first and takes a kick for his troubles.

47th minute: Mbappe is certainly giving it a good go! He leaves Achraf Hakimi for dust down the left but his cutback is overhit.

46th minute: We’re back underway. Can France make another fast start like they did from the first whistle?

Halftime: You feared Morocco might collapse after Theo Hernandez gave France an early lead, certainly as their captain Romain Saiss hobbled out of the action after Olivier Giroud hit the post. But the Atlas Lions finished the half on top, with Jawad El Yamiq’s overhead kick striking the upright. This one is far from over. The next goal is enormous.

45th minute+3: France are hanging on for the halftime whistle here, as Lloris punches another dangerous Hakim Ziyech delivery out of his six-yard box. 

44th minute: Morocco hit the post! Jawad El Yamiq, who was partly culpable for the opening goal, launched a stunning overhead kick after France didn’t fully deal with Hakim Ziyech’s corner. A combination of Hugo Lloris’ fingertips and the bottom of the upright preserved Les Bleus’ lead.

43th minute: Lovely play from Morocco, who quickens the tempo and Azzedine Ounahi slides a ball down the right channel for Achraf Hakimi. He wins the corner after a excellent challenge from Ibrahima Konate.

39th minute: Antoine Griezmann gets his sparkling feet going down the right and Jawad El Yamiq slides in to concede the corner. No one really picked up Raphael Varane’s near-post run but the Manchester United defender’s attempt doesn’t threaten.

36th minute: Woooahhh, almost 2-0. Hakim Ziyech coughs up possession and France are lightning in transition. Kylian Mbappe looks set to double the lead but his effort is hacked out of the goalmouth. The attack stays alive and Giroud really should have his fifth of the competition as he shoots wide.

35th minute: Antoine Griezmann’s corner from the right is only half cleared before Youssouf Fofana takes on an ambitious shot on the turn and sends it way wide.

34th minute: Not for the first time tonight, Giroud has a teammate blast a shot at him. Mbappe cutting in from the left on this occasion. Theo Hernandez remains in the wars after Achraf Dari left one in on him a little bit.

32nd minute: Lovely play through the midfield by Morocco. As usual, it starts with Sofyan Amrabat and substitute Selim Amallah advances the attack, almost finding the throughball to Youssef En-Nesyri. Overall, its been a pretty good response to going behind from the Atlas Lions.

27th minute: Theo Hernandez looks in some pain here. The goalscorer got a foot in the snuff out a Morocco attack but that put his knee at an uncomfortable angle and there was also a coming together with Sofiane Boufal, who is booked.

21st minute: It’s a sad end for Romain Saiss, who hobbles off. Morocco’ gamble on their skipper and Nayef Aguard has not paid off. Selim Amallah comes on and that should mean a switch to a more familiar 4-3-3 for Regragui’s side.

18th minute: Olivier Giroud hits the post! France’s record goalscorer turns away from Romain Saiss, who is moving in an incredibly laboured fashion, and thumps against the left upright left-footed.

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17th minute: That’s more like it from Morocco. Sofiane Boufal drives through midfield and plays in Hakim Ziyech. Unfortunately for the Chelsea winger, he lost his footing before shooting and it squirts wide.

15th minute: Hakim Ziyech swings a nice-looking free-kick into the France box from deep but it’s headed clear and the world champions are back into a smooth and probing period of possession.

13th minute: Morocco need to settle down a bit here. Sofyan Amrabat just carelessly gave the ball away inside his own half. As was the case early on against England, France are pressing judiciously and setting traps. 1-0 is a bad situation for the Atlas Lions but 2-0 at this juncture would feel close to irretrievable. 

9th minute: Almost a spectacular response from Morocco, as Azzedine Ounahi curls a right-footed effort towards the bottom corner from 25 yards. Hugo Lloris gets across and down and that’s a fine save with his left hand.

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5th minute: GOOOOAAALLLLL!!!!! Theo Hernandez!!!!

It looked like some last-ditch Morocco defending had done the job after Kylian Mbappe’s shot on the end of Antoine Griezmann’s cutback was blocked. Mbappe’s second attempt hit Olivier Giroud but Hernandez was alert to the possibilities with an acrobatic finish at the back post.

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4th minute: Aurelien Tchouameni looks to break into a dribble but the ever-alert Sofyan Amrabat mops up in the Morocco midfield.

1st minute: The game is underway. In a late change to the Morocco XI, Achraf Dari is playing instead of Nayef Aguard, who mustn’t have been as back to fitness as he thought.

5 mins from kickoff: The teams are out and we’re into the anthems. Wow, that was just massive from Morocco. Walid Regragui well into things on the sideline too. The atmosphere in Al Bayt Stadium is incredible.

20 mins from kickoff: Much like Gareth Southgate, whose England he downed in the previous round, Deschamps is once again facing a coach who admires him greatly. โ€œFrance made me dream in 2018 with the way they played,” Walid Regragui said pre-match. “Deschamps understood how to do it โ€“ letโ€™s stop with statistics.โ€

Regragui has made me pretty self-conscious, to be honest, because – as you’ll have noticed – a lot of the Twitter embeds we use on here feature a statistic or two. To redress the balance, here’s Sofiane Boufal dancing with his mum.

40 mins from kickoff: Al Bayt Stadium is filling up nicely and the massed ranks of red-clad Morocco fans are already making a bit of a racket.

50 mins from kickoff: It will be interesting to see how they all hold up over the course of a possible 120 minutes but it’s a gigantic boost to Morocco boss Walid Regragui. Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguard and Noussair Mazraoui all start. Jawad El Yamiq being retained means it looks like a back five for the Atlas Lions, which probably makes sense against all of France’s considerable attacking firepower. If the extra centre-back gives Mazraoui and Hakim Ziyech extra licence to get forward then all the better.

1hr 15 mins from kickoff: And this is what the France team looks like. Those earlier reports were on the money, with Ibrahima Konate and Youssouf Fofana coming in for Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot.

1hr 30 mins from kickoff: Here’s how Morocco will line up on a historic night for African football.

2hrs from kickoff: Thankfully for Deschamps, there don’t appear to be any doubts about Antoine Griezmann’s availability. Deployed in a midfield role, the Atletico Madrid star has been in sparkling form in Qatar.

2 hrs 20 mins from kickoff: A sickness bug has compromised France’s preparations and L’Equipe is reporting that central defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielder Adrien Rabiot will not start tonight, with Ibrahima Konate and Youssouf Fofana coming in to take their places. Confirmed team news should be with us within the hour.

2 hrs 40 mins from kickoff: France have broken a recent trend of defending champions not doing much in the way of defending their title. Italy, Spain and Germany, winners in 2006, 2010 and 2014 respectively, all bowed out in the group stage the next time around.

3 hrs from kickoff: This will be Morocco’s sixth meeting with France. They’ve not won any of the previous five, while France have triumphed in their past three World Cup semifinals. Records are there to be broken, I guess…

3 hrs 20 mins from kickoff: A key element in Ziyech’s battle with his great mate Mbappe is how much it will impact upon the Morocco full-back’s attacking output. Walid Regragui’s side can’t afford it to dip too much, as the numbers below demonstrate.

3 hrs 40 mins from kickoff: As has been the case throughout their run in Qatar, Morocco’s hopes of success will be built upon a rock-solid foundation at the back. Remarkably, Canada remain the only team to have scored against them so far.

4 hrs from kickoff: Excitement is building as France aim to reach a second successive World Cup final

4 hrs and 30 mins from kickoff: Will it be another SPECIAL night for Morocco in Qatar?

5 hrs from kickoff: Another Griezmann masterclass incoming?

5 hrs and 30 mins from kickoff: Regragui is confident Achraf Hakimi will come out on top against Kylian Mbappe. The clash between the two PSG teammates will be under major focus ahead of kickoff, but Regragui is confident in his No.2.

“We have to block Kylian, but not just him. Hakimi is super motivated to beat his friend.”

6 hrs from kickoff: Can Morocco spring another surprise at Qatar 2022? 

6 hrs 30 mins from kickoff: Much has been made of the Kylian Mbappe vs. Achraf Hakimi head-to-head battle between PSG teammates and close friends. They were talking about a potential matchup back in January.

Despite the trash talk, the two are close and have shared photos together during the World Cup in Qatar. That will all have to be put aside on Wednesday.

7 hrs from kickoff: Many like to classify Morocco as a defend-and-counter team, but as this compilation from the Morocco vs Portugal match shows, there’s plenty of quality buildup from Walid Regragui’s men:

DECOURCY: Morocco’s run to the semifinal is no fluke

France vs Morocco lineups, team news

Multiple players were apparently feeling under the weather as a cold bug infiltrated the French squad and there was concern around the condition of starters Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano who fell ill in the days leading up to the semifinal and missed the last training session. But the latest reports from Qatar say both will start.

If either struggles during the match, Ibrahima Konate (for Upamecano) and Youssouf Fofana (for Rabiot) would be their natural replacements.

France (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) โ€” 5. Kounde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez โ€” 8. Tchouameni, 14. Rabiot โ€” 11. Dembele, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappe โ€” 9. Giroud

The Morocco lineup will mostly be the same from the victory against Portugal with only one change as Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui makes his return to the starting lineup at left-back after overcoming his bout with illness. 

West Ham center-back Nayef Aguerd has reportedly still not recovered from his thigh injury and Real Valladolid’s Jaward El-Yamiq will continue to deputise. Even though he’s also carrying a knock, it appears centre-back Romain Saiss will push through and play.

Morocco (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Bono (GK) โ€” 2. Hakimi, 18-El Yamiq, 6. Saiss, 25. Attiyah Allah โ€” 8. Ounahi, 4. Amrabat, 15. Amallah โ€” 7. Ziyech, 19. En-Nesyri, 17. Boufal

MORE: Why are Morocco called the Atlas Lions?

France vs Morocco live stream, TV channel

This second semifinal clash will be played at the Al Bayt Stadium.

Here’s how you can watch all the action in some of the major global territories.

  Date Time TV Channel Streaming
USA Wed, Dec. 14 14:00 ET Fox,
Telemundo		 fuboTV,
Fox Sports site/app,
Telemundo Deportes site/app,
Peacock
Canada Wed, Dec. 14 14:00 ET TSN 1, CTV, RDS (French) TSN site/app, CTV website,
RDS app
UK Wed, Dec. 14 19:00 GMT BBC One BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website
Australia Thu, Dec. 15 06:00 AEDT SBS SBS On Demand
India Thu, Dec. 15 00:30 IST Sports 18 JioTV
Hong Kong Thu, Dec. 15 03:00 HKT Now TV (Ch. 616, 618) Now TV
Malaysia Thu, Dec. 15 03:00 MYT Astro FIFA World Cup 1 Astro GO
Singapore Thu, Dec. 15 03:00 SGT StarHub TV FIFA World Cup, Singtel FIFA World Cup 141 Singtel TV GO, CAST,
StarHub TV+, MeWatch
New Zealand Thu, Dec. 15 08:00 NZDT Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports Sky Go, Sky Sport NOW

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