World Cup Semi-Final 2 - France vs. Morocco

Morocco gave it their best but it wasn't enough today against France as they lost 0-2. France scored very quick (in the first 5 minutes) and then Morocco looked like the better team for the next 75 minutes of play but could never get the ball into the net. And then France scored again at the 80 min mark and the match was pretty much over. Morocco had a huge crowd (both their own fans as well as others that had jumped onto their bandwagon) and they made themselves heard. But it didn't make a difference as France was able to finish their chances with goals when Morocco could not. This was a record for Morocco as the first team from Africa to make it to the semi-finals and they beat some highly ranked teams in Belgium, Spain and Portugal on the way.

So now we have France vs Argentina in the finals. At the start of the tournament I think that these 2 teams were in many people's top 3 (along with Brazil). It should be a great match and features two of the best players in the world in Lionel Messi for Argentina and Kylian Mbappe for France. They are teammates in club play with both playing for Paris St. Germain. Not only will they be playing for the World Cup trophy but they will also be playing for the Golden Boot award as they are currently tied with the most goals in the tournament with 5 apiece.

I will be rooting for France on Sunday but I feel that Argentina looks like they are in better form and should be considered the favorites. France's defense held Morocco without a goal today but overall they have been giving up a number of goals in the tournament. I think that both teams have great goal scorers but the difference for Argentina will be their better defenders. My guess is that Argentina wins 3-1 and Messi gets both trophies...

There is a 3rd place game being played on Saturday and I predict that Morocco will win it in penalty kicks against Croatia. Croatia got 2nd place in the World Cup 4 years ago and I don't think that they will be super motivated for the 3rd place game whereas I think that Morocco will continue to try to set records for African teams with another win.