France beat gallant Morocco 2-0 to set up 2022 World Cup final with Argentina

As with all fairytale stories, they come to an end at some point and Morocco's fairytale run in the 2022 World Cup has come to an end after they lost 2-0 to France in the last semi-final game of the tournament.

The fairytale run that saw them come top in a group with tournament favorites Croatia and Belgium is over. The run that saw the Atlas Lions play five matches without conceding a goal from an opponent is over. The run that saw them make history as the first African country to make the last four of the FIFA World Cup is over.

The run that saw them beat Belgium, Spain, and Portugal is over and as they walk off the pitch at the Al Bayt Stadium, there will be a real feeling of "we came, we saw and conquered" among the Moroccan players and coaches.

Even against France where they conceded two goals, Morocco went down with a fight and proved why their progress to this level was everything but a fluke.

In that game, despite being ravaged by injuries to a key player like Saiss, Morocco played arguably their best football of the tournament and with a bit of lack of precision would have caused yet another upset.

France, after Theo Hernandez's 5th-minute volley literally went to sleep, ceded possession to Morocco with the plan to use Mbappe as the outlet.

The PSG star with lightning speed caused the likes of Hakimi and Yamiq headaches but it was not enough to give them another goal in the first half.

The second half was in a similar fashion, except that this time around Morocco appeared more purposeful with their possession but a combination of profligacy and in-game injuries to crucial players meant that they could not convert the possession into actual goals.

But the thing with playing teams with good stars is that they can turn up at any time and make things happen and that is exactly what Kylian Mbappe did to set up the goal that put the game to bed.

The speedster received the ball from Thuram in the Moroccan box and wove through a flurry of defensive legs before finding Kolo Muani whose first touch of the ball was finding the net.

It was game over then and Morocco despite their spirited and hungry performance found the French mountain insurmountable.

France have now become the first country since Brazil in 1998 and 2002 to make the final of the World Cup consecutively and if they win on Sunday, they will become the first country since Italy in 1962 to make a successful defense of their title.

Standing in their way however, is Lionel Messi's Argentina who appeared to be ready to die on the pitch to win the cup for the 35-year-old Messi who in the view of many is the GOAT, Greatest of All Time.