By Julien Pretot
FOXBOROUGH, MA, July 9 (Reuters) - France have inspired such awe since the start of the World Cup that even Morocco, an attacking side brimming with talent and confidence, appeared beaten before their quarter-final had begun on Thursday.
Morocco would have needed a boldness bordering on arrogance to go toe-to-toe with France, but instead abandoned the exhilarating attacking style that had made them one of the tournament’s most compelling teams.
Their 4-5-1 formation, with Brahim Diaz
isolated up front, signalled caution. Few teams would choose to trade blows with France, whose pace in transition has been unmatched throughout the competition and they have now scored 16 goals -- eight from Kylian Mbappe and five for Ousmane Dembele.
But Morocco did more than manage the risk. They returned to the defensive resolve that carried them to the semi-finals in 2022, placing their faith in goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Bounou, known as Bono, saved a weak Mbappe penalty in the 28th minute, but Morocco’s approach was always likely to fail as France patiently worked the ball around the edge of the area.
After talking the talk, saying they were here to win the World Cup, Morocco did not walk the walk.
“In the spells when we did not have the ball and let them keep it, we felt they were not dangerous and that we had nothing to fear from that team,” France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said.
“That was the feeling we had on the pitch.”
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Morocco’s first shot on target came six minutes from time, by which point Mbappe’s curled effort and Dembele’s low drive had settled the match.
The two-goal margin did not fully reflect the gap between the sides. Rabiot and Manu Kone bossed the midfield, while Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi struggled to impose himself and lost possession too often under France’s pressure.
“We knew they could have scored earlier. We would have liked to hold out a little longer without conceding, to see how France would react," said Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi.
“I told the players that they needed to go in with their heads high.”
Strikingly, that was not the case.
France advanced to a third successive World Cup semi-final, where they will face Belgium or Spain. Spain have yet to concede at the tournament and would offer Didier Deschamps’ side another formidable test.
“There can be no let-up,” said Mbappe, who was substituted in the 77th after feeling a slight pain in his ankle. “There is still a long way to go, and what lies ahead will be even tougher, but we will recover well.”
(Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Ed Osmond)
