Though minnows tried their best, World Cup veterans prevailed

DOHA, QATAR - DECEMBER 04: Coach Didier Deschamps of France reacts during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between France and Poland at Al Thumama Stadium on December 04, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)

By Oliver Kay for The Athletic

17 Dec 2022

France, the imperfect back-to-back World Cup finalists, have had to draw on deep reserves in what has been a strange tournament in many ways. If they can do so again, a third title might well be theirs.

French daily L’Equipe called it “un exploit venu des trefonds”, a feat from the depths, and when you look at it that way – as a triumph over adversity as well as a valiant opponent – France’s progression to a second consecutive World Cup final looks that bit more impressive.

The performance? Not so much, in truth. France coach Didier Deschamps admitted his team “weren’t perfect” in beating Morocco in the semifinal on 14 December, and that they “weren’t perfect” when they overcame England in the quarterfinal either.

Over the course of those two matches they rarely looked like reigning world champions, but ultimately, with a squad ravaged by illness and injury, only the result mattered.

France’s 2-0 win over Morocco means that this strangest of World Cups will end with the showpiece final its organisers would have desired beforehand. Argentina vs France means Lionel Messi vs Kylian Mbappé, which means the greatest player of his generation against his heir apparent, both of them in the employment of Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain.

If the “dream final” was in doubt for a time in Al Khor on Wednesday evening, it was because Morocco, the surprise package of this World Cup, made France sweat for it.

For periods of the game, with Sofyan Amrabat outstanding again in midfield, Morocco pushed Deschamps’s team harder than England did on Saturday. After conceding the first goal to Theo Hernandez within five minutes, Morocco went on the offensive, taking risks, committing players forward and threatening an equaliser until Randal Kolo Muani came off the bench to tap home France’s second goal.

With that, Deschamps and his players could finally begin to focus on Sunday’s final. “We could have played better,” the coach said. “But we’re in the final and both finalists will be playing a better team than they’ve played so far in the tournament. Maybe the team who makes fewer mistakes will win the game.”

Lionel Messi celebrates after the third goal by Julián Álvarez of Argentina (not pictured) during the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 semifinal match between Argentina and Croatia at Lusail Stadium on 13 December 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)

Errors and excitement

Thinking back to France’s last World Cup final four years ago, that 4-2 victory over Croatia in Moscow was a strange game, strewn with errors at both ends of the pitch.

So was Wednesday’s semifinal as both teams played at a frantic pace and left large gaps for the opposition to exploit. If Morocco were left to pay the price for allowing Mbappé too much space in the build-up to the second goal, the same could be said of France’s defending: they can’t afford to give Messi as much time, space and encouragement as they gave Azzedine Ounahi, Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri.

For France, there were mitigating circumstances. They went into this tournament without Presnel Kimpembe, N’Golo Kanté, Paul Pogba, Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema owing to injury. Since then they have lost Lucas Hernandez to injury and, on the day of the semifinal, Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot to what Deschamps called “an illness going round in Doha”.

The France squad is much changed from that in Russia four years ago, but by the time the teamsheets dropped for the semifinal, it barely felt recognisable.

Only five of the starting XI against Morocco (Hugo Lloris, Raphaël Varane, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Mbappé) had started in the 2018 final.

Jules Koundé (24), Ibrahima Konaté (23), Theo Hernandez (25), Youssouf Fofana (23) and Aurélien Tchouaméni (22) represent a new wave, as do Marcus Thuram (25) and Kolo Muani (24), who came off the bench to kill off Morocco’s resistance.

Lionel Messi of Argentina in action with Dejan Lovren of Croatia during the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 semifinal match between Argentina and Croatia at Lusail Stadium on 13 December 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)

Kylian Mbappé of France is surrounded during the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 semifinal match between France and Morocco at Al Bayt Stadium on 14 December 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar. (Photo: Catherine Ivill / Getty Images)

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Depth

When you consider how many players are already missing, the strength in depth is particularly creditable. But how good is this France team? Good enough to beat Australia 4-1, Denmark 2-1, Poland 3-1, England 2-1 and Morocco 2-0.

How well do you have to play to win the World Cup, though? The accepted wisdom is you have to reach the form of your life, but international football is not always like that.

Sometimes it requires the squad with the best players simply to hold their nerve, work together and avoid doing anything stupid.

A sensible squad with talented players and the right mindset will always have a chance.

Under Deschamps, France are certainly sensible. They will be expected to raise their game in the final, but the coach would happily accept any kind of performance as long as they get their victory – especially in the circumstances of this tournament, in which they have had to draw on deeper reserves in more ways than one.

Coach Didier Deschamps of France reacts during the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between France and Poland at Al Thumama Stadium on 4 December 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo: Lionel Hahn / Getty Images)

Top footballing country

Morocco coach Walid Regragui, who was born and raised in Paris, declared in the post-match press conference that, “over the past 20 years, you can say France is the top footballing country in the world. They have the best players and the best coaches and they are the best team in the world.”

France have become the first team to reach consecutive men’s World Cup finals since Brazil in 1994, 1998 and 2002. They will hope to become only the third team (after Italy in 1934 and 1938, and Brazil in 1958 and 1962) to win back-to-back titles. All of this would have been unimaginable when they were failing to qualify for the World Cup in 1990 and 1994.

Deschamps led Les Bleus to World Cup glory as captain in 1998 and as coach in 2018. A third winner’s medal would do him nicely, but when this was put to him on Wednesday evening, he said little beyond “the team is more important than me”.

Barely a day seems to go by without France enduring some setback or another, but, from the depths of their squad and their depleted energy reserves, they have found enough to get the job done. If they are to overcome Messi and Argentina, they might have to dig deeper still. DM168

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.

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