Mbappe vs Hakimi: The key clash when France face Morocco
When the full time whistle blew on Saturday afternoon, there were scenes of jubilation from the Morocco fans at the Al Thumama Stadium. The Atlas Lions had just defeated Portugal 1-0 to become the first African side to progress to the semi-finals of a World Cup. Morocco have now beaten Belgium, Spain and Portugal to secure their place in the final four at Qatar 2022, and set up a meeting with defending champions France.
Whether they have another upset in the locker remains to be seen, but the team spirit and momentum built over the course of the tournament has aided their push for glory. That they are still yet to concede a goal to an opposition player - the only goal they conceded was a Nayef Aguerd own goal in their 2-1 group stage win over Canada - is a testament to their defensive resolve and it has helped claim a series of notable scalps.
Will France, though, prove a step too far for the Atlas Lions? With key centre-backs Aguerd and Romain Saiss set to miss out against Les Bleus, the psychological factor can only take them so far. France, meanwhile, lost the likes of Karim Benzema, Christopher Nkunku, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante to injury before the tournament even begun, yet have the strength in depth to ensure those four players haven't been missed in Qatar.
Only England (13) and Portugal (12) have scored more goals than France (11) at the tournament, with nine of those netted by Golden Boot chasing pair Kylian Mbappe (5) and Olivier Giroud (4). Having used the 2018 World Cup to really break onto the scene, Mbappe has taken it upon himself to follow up his showing in Russia with another stand out tournament in Qatar.
And even if he is marked out of the game, then Didier Deschamps is able to call upon big game player Giroud to make the difference, as he did so excellently against England on Saturday. With Mbappe enduring his worst rated 2022 World Cup performance in the eventual 2-1 win over the Three Lions, Giroud popped up with a second half winner as France's highest scoring player in history got the job done once more.
Morocco will take solace from the way with which England kept Mbappe quiet, and fortunately for the Atlas Lions, their first choice right-back is well versed in the Frenchman's quality and approach. The key battle in Wednesday's second semi-final could be how Mbappe gets the better of club teammate Achraf Hakimi. The pair have played together for PSG since the start of 2021/22, and in the 18 months since the latter joined the former in Paris, they will have become more and more established with their respective styles of play.
As such, Mbappe up against Hakimi will be one of the more intriguing battles on Wednesday. Every football fan is well versed in Mbappe's attacking exploits in Qatar, though England did prove these can be nullified. In Hakimi, the France star will face arguably his toughest test yet. While the full-back hasn't been able to maximise his offensive output, in part due to the way Morocco have set up in Qatar - they spend much of the game remaining compact before hitting opponents on the counter, noted in that the Atlas Lions have a possession average of 31.6%, the second lowest at the World Cup - the 24-year-old has worked tirelessly defensively to ensure Morocco have kept four clean sheets from their five games.
Hakimi has made at least three more tackles (19) than any other player at the 2022 World Cup, while only four players - all on 22 - have won possession in the defensive third more times than the Morocco star (21). Now, Mbappe hasn't been dispossessed regularly in Qatar, but he ranks top for unsuccessful touches resulting in a loss of possession (17) and this is something that Hakimi can exploit to help keep the Golden Boot favourite at bay, and help spring rapid counter attacks.
Walid Regragui will undoubtedly lean heavily on Hakimi to get the inside track on Mbappe, who will have his work cut out to add to his five goals when France face Morocco. Either way, this is one of the many sub-plots that will determine who emerges victorious in this second semi-final tie.
Regragui is adament Morocco will not make a plan to keep Mbappe quiet given the quality of the France squad, as was on show against England as Aurelien Tchouameni put Deschamps' side ahead and Giroud scored the winner, but with Hakimi well aware of the France star's strengths, the Atlas Lions boss doesn't really need to make one. Rather, he'll simply ask Hakimi to continue performing as he has done in Qatar as Morocco look to make history once more.
