Far from their victorious outings, Morocco was too irregular against France (0-2) to hope for a new feat and open the doors to the 2022 World Cup final. The step was too high this time.
Some will not have recognized their Morocco at times. This team built like an Atlas rock, impervious to Croatian, Belgian, Spanish and Portuguese offensive assaults, gave in twice against the Blues. A failure which is explained by several factors which were unfavorable to the Walid Regragui men.
A missed tactical shot
Was it a real tactical move attempted or a reorganization suffered? When the composition of Morocco is communicated, many observers wonder as much about the announced presence of Nayef Aguerd and Romain Saïss, very uncertain with this meeting, as about the five-man defense chosen by Walid Regragui to challenge the Blues. Since the beginning of the competition, in fact, the Moroccan coach had always favored a defense with four and a medium with five elements. First hard blow, Aguerd’s package from the warm-up. He will be replaced by Achraf Dari, not blameless on the first French goal.
Five minutes and a goal…
The worst that could happen to Morocco was to concede a goal very early. It only took 5 minutes for the Blues to find the opening against a defense that had conceded only one goal in five games. Has the five-man defense disrupted the Moroccan organization? In any case, the Atlas Lions, led for the first time in this tournament, will never manage to catch up despite several occasions including an acrobatic return from Jawad El Yamick on the post of Hugo Lloris.
Too many injuries, little experience…
Nayef Aguerd, before the start of the match, Romain Saïss, after the 21st minute, and Noussair Mazraoui, at halftime, the rearguard of the Atlas Lions was gradually decimated in this meeting. ” We lost a lot of people. It was a lot for usconceded Moroccan coach Walid Regragui at the end of the match. We were at the end of the end “. The Moroccan technician also believes that his team fell on ” a strong team that knows what it’s doing and waits for you to make a mistake. »
Absent leaders
Spearheads of their team, first attackers and first defenders, the Boufal-Ziyech-Hakimi trio was not very visible against France. The first even showed some nervousness in the first half, collecting a yellow card. Ziyech, who looked blunt, also lacked the back pain that has hurt many teams in this tournament. Finally, if Achraf Hamki has certainly contained the influence of Mbappé, the right side has never been able (dare) to bring more offensive in a corridor that Mbappé almost never protected and that Theo Hernandez often deserted.