French belief triumphs over Moroccan wishfulness in men's World Cup semifinal

Chris Jones is in Qatar covering the men's World Cup for CBC Sports.

After giving hope its run, fact reasserted itself in the World Cup semifinal. In the grand and sprawling history of this tournament, several unexpected sides have appeared among the final four; there have been no surprise winners. The second-last game is the maximum expected range of the aspirants, the romantics, the prayerful.

The preordained almost always take it from here.

The Moroccans had done so well to make it this far. Not many had expected them to advance out of Group F — remember when they were supposed to be Canada's "easy" game? — let alone win two knockout-round matches against favoured Spain and Portugal.

Wednesday's meeting with defending champion France was historic by multiple measures. Morocco was the first African and Arab team to reach a men's World Cup semifinal. They were greeted as heroes by the night's hugely unbalanced crowd, who accompanied every French possession with a chorus of whistles, and every Moroccan chance with roars. 

Their yearning fell on deaf ears. We have reached the ruthless stage of the tournament when games seem less like coin tosses and more like certainties, with fates no longer decided by desire alone. Now the believers almost always beat the wishful, and so the French beat the Moroccans, 2-0.

When France opened its accounts in the fifth minute, a rout appeared to be on. Antoine Griezmann, who has been masterful all tournament, freed himself from Jawad El Yamiq after the Moroccan cruelly slipped. Griezmann delivered a cross to Kylian Mbappé, whose blocked shot ricocheted to Theo Hernández, who chopped the ball down into the net.

That was the first goal the Moroccans had conceded in more than 1,000 minutes of dogged, disciplined soccer, excepting the goal they had scored on themselves during their group-stage win over Canada. They hadn't been scored on by an opponent since June.

Playing from behind for the first time in their tournament lives, they came at the French like lions, and could have equalized on several occasions if only something fine had gone their way. (A blocked cross in the box by an excellent Ibrahima Konaté stands out.)

In the 79th minute, the French countered and scored again, off another deflected shot from Mbappé. This time, Randal Kolo Muani, who had just come on as a substitute, was fortune's recipient, and he banged a short ball home.

The Moroccans didn't give up, and it was moving to watch them continue their press, if only for pride's sake. Their supporters stood and applauded for the last several minutes of the match, offering encouragement and gratitude at the same time. When the final whistle blew, several fans dissolved into tears. One woman was wrapped in a Moroccan flag, and it shook along with her shoulders.

"We gave everything on the pitch, and I think we did cause France problems," Morocco head coach Walid Regragui said after. "That's already quite an achievement. But I'd say at a World Cup, this was perhaps one step too far."

Aside from the night's soccer significance, the meeting carried enormous social and cultural weight. There were 30 flights from Casablanca to Doha on Wednesday alone. Tens of thousands of Moroccans had made the trip hoping to watch history unravel as well as be made. 

A former colony had been pitted against its former colonialists, and while the modern lines between them are blurred — Regragui and two of his players are French-born — there was enough whistling during La Marseillaise to make it clear that for some, at least, there remains a harder divide.

Despite that early rancor, the game never felt nervy or sinister. It was almost purely festive. Everyone involved was happy to be there. It's rare that an entire continent and an entire people are given the chance to celebrate a first.

This year's tournament brought back memories of 2002, when Turkey made an incredible run, alongside lightly regarded (and favourably officiated) co-host South Korea, all the way to the penultimate game. 

There, however, they met Brazil and Germany respectively, and true to this tournament's usual reckoning, the former champions each dismissed their unexpected opponents.

Now, two decades later, the same has happened here in Qatar. First, Argentina dismantled Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday night. Then came Morocco's elimination by the French. Lionel Messi will try to win his first World Cup at age 35. Mbappé will try to win his second at 23.

Sunday's final will be a contest between giants in other ways. No matter which country takes home the trophy, a two-time World Cup winner will claim its third.

"You can't win a World cup with miracles," Regragui said.

On Saturday, his team will instead play in the third-place game. That's the championship for dreamers.