Izuchukwu Okosi
France, the defending World Champions, overcame the African challenge posed by an impressive Morocco side to reach the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Below is how the Les Bleus players performed in the game:
Join our WhatsApp ChannelGK: Hugo Lloris – 8/10 – Was alive to some really close chances that Morocco had in the game.
RB: Jules Kounde – 7/10 – The new Barcelona defender did not offer much of an attacking threat from his full back role when he was needed to.
Kounde, of Cameroonian descent, made a goal-line clearance.
CB: Raphael Varane – 6/10 – Was decent enough from the back and was easily at home by passing out from the back pretty well.
CB: Ibrahima Konate – 7/10 – Stepped in to replace the ill Dayot Upamecano and the Liverpool man was impressive in the way he repeatedly intercepted and cleared the ball.
LB: Theo Hernandez – 7/10 – The left back produced a piece of quality when he steered the home with a superb piece of improvisation. Teammate Olivier Giroud must be proud of that goal.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 7/10 – Passed accurately for the most part and gave a disciplined performance in the middle of the pitch.
READ ALSO: How Morocco Lost To Superior France In World Cup Semifinals
CM: Youssouf Fofana – 7/10 – Thrashed at a decent chance to make it 2-0 and comfortable before it actually was. Missed the target with another good position but carried the ball forward well in the build up to the second French goal.
RM: Ousmane Dembele – 6/10 – Pretty quiet given the decent tournament he’s had. Dembele is married to a Moroccan lady.
AM: Antoine Griezmann – 9/10 – Pulled creative strings from the ‘number 10′ role, including the chance that gave France their early goal. DIdn’t neglect defensive discipline either.
LM: Kylian Mbappe – 8/10 – His pace obviously made him a threat. Looked like he would beat the whole Morocco defence in the move that gave France their killer second.
ST: Olivier Giroud – 7/10 – Hit the outside of the post and also missed the target from a great positon in the first half alone.
Substitutes
SUB: Marcus Thuram (65′ for Giroud) – 6/10
SUB: Randal Kolo Muani (78’ for Dembele) – 7/10
Manager
Didier Deschamps – 8/10 – Forced into changes in defence and midfield from the quarter-final win over England as he missed the likes of Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot. His team’s discipline and clinical nature has got them to another World Cup final.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
