At the Al Bayt Stadium on Thursday night, France vs Morocco will compete for a spot in the FIFA World Cup 2022 championship game, know their head to head record
France is to meet Morocco in the Semi-Final.
Along with Argentina, Croatia, and the African powerhouse Morocco, which became the first African and Arab nation in FIFA World Cup history to secure a spot in the last four, the defending champion France also advanced to the semi-finals.
France vs Morocco Football Head To Head Record Stats And World Cup History
On Thursday night, France will take on the Atlas Lions, the giant-killing team from the Qatar World Cup, while Argentina will meet Croatia in the first semi-final. Morocco, a former French colony, is one of just two unbeaten teams in this World Cup—Croatia is the other—to advance to the semi-finals.
Past meet-ups between France vs Morocco
Here is how France and Morocco have performed in prior confrontations as the stage is set for yet another tantalising match.
Five international friendlies have taken place between France and Morocco. However, they have never clashed in a World Cup. They will initially meet at the centrepiece event. When the two countries first met, France defeated Morocco 2-1. The two teams did play each other several times in unofficial matches throughout the 1960s, though.
In a friendly match in 1998, Morocco defeated France after a shootout. After Salaheddine Bassir scored twice for the Atlas Lions, the score was tied by Laurent Blanc and Youri Djorkaeff. Morocco’s victory in the shootout was their lone victory over France.
Head-to-Head Record
- Matches: 5
- France: 3
- Morocco: 1
France defeated Morocco 1-0 and 5-1 in the rematches between the two teams in 1999 and 2000, respectively. France scored goals through Thierry Henry, Djorkaeff, Christophe Dugarry, Nicolas Anelka, and Sylvain Wiltord. In their most recent friendly encounter, France and Morocco agreed to a 2-2 draw at Stade de France in Paris.
Morocco took the lead in the eighth minute thanks to Tarik Sektioui. Within seven minutes, Sidney Govou achieved parity. Samir Nasri gave France a 2-1 lead in the second half, but Youssef Mokhtari’s injury-time goal forced a 2-2 draw.
Morocco has outplayed neighbours Spain and Portugal in back-to-back games with 0 goals conceded due to their superior defensive play. Morocco has demonstrated that it is hardy and resilient, whereas France is a different species. For this game, a draw has a lot of importance.
Perhaps Spain and Portugal gave in to the burden of expectations because they lacked the expertise to defeat Morocco. France has handled those difficulties far better and has expertise in crucial situations. They’ll be better equipped to manage any situations requiring extra time or penalty kicks and ought to advance to defend their 2018 championship.