No one expected to see France and Morocco facing off in the 2022 World Cup semifinals, but one of them will make it all the way to the final after they meet at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
France are the defending world champions but lost several key players due to injury before the tournament. Head coach Didier Deschamps remained confident his side wouldn’t miss a beat and Les Bleus have produced some dazzling play in Qatar, thanks largely to their front four of Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe.
They have also had a few defensive lapses, which have been foreign to a Morocco team that has allowed just one goal in five matches. That combination of rock-solid defending and timely goals has been the formula for Walid Regragui’s Atlas Lions to become the first African team to reach the semifinals, taking out Spain and Portugal in the process.
The long, intertwined history and existing ties between both nations — Regragui is French born as are other Moroccan players, and others play for French teams — and a loyal and loud Moroccan supporter contingent will add a different dimension to the match. Another Morocco surprise is not entirely out of the question.
Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights for France vs. Morocco at the 2022 World Cup. Follow below for complete results from the semifinal match in Qatar.
MORE: Best bets for France vs. Morocco
France vs Morocco live score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| France | — | — | — |
| Morocco | — | — | — |
Goals:
None
Projected lineups:
France (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) — 5. Kounde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 8. Tchouameni, 14. Rabiot — 11. Dembele, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappe — 9. Giroud
Morocco (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Bono (GK) — 2. Hakimi, 5. Aguerd, 6. Saiss, 25. Attiyah Allah — 8. Ounahi, 4. Amrabat, 15. Amallah — 7. Ziyech, 19. En-Nesyri, 17. Boufal
MORE: Watch every World Cup match live with fuboTV (U.S.-only free trial)
France vs Morocco live updates, highlights from 2022 World Cup
2 hrs 20 mins from kickoff: A sickness bug has compromised France’s preparations and L’Equipe is reporting that central defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielder Adrien Rabiot will not start tonight, with Ibrahima Konate and Youssouf Fofana coming in to take their places. Confirmed team news should be with us within the hour.
2 hrs 40 mins from kickoff: France have broken a recent trend of defending champions not doing much in the way of defending their title. Italy, Spain and Germany, winners in 2006, 2010 and 2014 respectively, all bowed out in the group stage the next time around.
3 hrs from kickoff: This will be Morocco’s sixth meeting with France. They’ve not won any of the previous five, while France have triumphed in their past three World Cup semifinals. Records are there to be broken, I guess…
3 hrs 20 mins from kickoff: A key element in Ziyech’s battle with his great mate Mbappe is how much it will impact upon the Morocco full-back’s attacking output. Walid Regragui’s side can’t afford it to dip too much, as the numbers below demonstrate.
💫 Hakim Ziyech has been a creative force so far at the #FIFAWorldCup for Morocco.
🔘 2 goal contributions (Joint-most)
🔘 6 chances created (most)
🔘 7 shots (most)
🔘 25 passes played into the box (most)
🔘 60 carries (most) pic.twitter.com/U35JgvhGmo— Sporting News Football Club (@sn_footballclub) December 14, 2022
3 hrs 40 mins from kickoff: As has been the case throughout their run in Qatar, Morocco’s hopes of success will be built upon a rock-solid foundation at the back. Remarkably, Canada remain the only team to have scored against them so far.
🇲🇦 Morocco have kept four clean sheets across their five World Cup outings so far, whilst overall under manager Walid Regragui they’ve kept seven in eight.
👀 The last side to keep five clean sheets at the World Cup were winners Spain in 2010. pic.twitter.com/nMxuFYqQdc
— Sporting News Football Club (@sn_footballclub) December 14, 2022
4 hrs from kickoff: Excitement is building as France aim to reach a second successive World Cup final
Pour continuer de 𝙧𝙚̂𝙫𝙚𝙧 ! 🔥
🏆 Demi-finale de la Coupe du Monde
🆚 Maroc 🇲🇦
⏰ Ce soir à 20h
📺 @TF1 #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/o006T7ok4x— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) December 14, 2022
4 hrs and 30 mins from kickoff: Will it be another SPECIAL night for Morocco in Qatar?
Such a special moment 🥹
This celebration between Sofiane Boufal and his mum 🇲🇦❤️@sosoboufal19 | #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 14, 2022
5 hrs from kickoff: Another Griezmann masterclass incoming?
Antoine Griezmann. Most assists in France’s history. Legend. pic.twitter.com/zPYYBdRFoC
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) December 10, 2022
5 hrs and 30 mins from kickoff: Regragui is confident Achraf Hakimi will come out on top against Kylian Mbappe. The clash between the two PSG teammates will be under major focus ahead of kickoff, but Regragui is confident in his No.2.
“We have to block Kylian, but not just him. Hakimi is super motivated to beat his friend.”
Hakimi is ready to meet Mbappe in the semifinals 🤝 pic.twitter.com/8VF5GLESmq
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 10, 2022
Friends quickly become rivals at the 2022 World Cup…
◉ Kylian Mbappé has recorded the top speed for France: 35.3 km/h
◉ Achraf Hakimi has recorded the top speed for Morocco: 35.3 km/h
Really quickly. 💨
Squawka x @WrldSoccerShop pic.twitter.com/6gxRkUvmOJ
— Squawka (@Squawka) December 14, 2022
6 hrs from kickoff: Can Morocco spring another surprise at Qatar 2022?
Will Morocco’s dream run at the #FIFAWorldCup continue? 🇲🇦😍
👇 Here’s their journey so far!
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 14, 2022
6 hrs 30 mins from kickoff: Much has been made of the Kylian Mbappe vs. Achraf Hakimi head-to-head battle between PSG teammates and close friends. They were talking about a potential matchup back in January.
🇫🇷🇲🇦 Mbappe et Hakimi qui parlait déjà d’un France – Maroc à la Coupe du Monde haha !
💭 Mbappe : Il faut que je détruise mon ami. Ça me brisera un peu le coeur… Mais c’est le football 🤷🏽♂️
💭 Hakimi : Je vais te fracasser 😘
Le match s’annonce SENSATIONNEL ⚔️🤯 pic.twitter.com/nm8AV5GP7s
— Said Amdaa (@SaidAmdaa) December 12, 2022
Despite the trash talk, the two are close and have shared photos together during the World Cup in Qatar. That will all have to be put aside on Wednesday.
kylian mbappé achraf hakimi
edit fancam fc taylor swift pic.twitter.com/Mt51fmgHyx— 📂 (@fteditsss) December 10, 2022
7 hrs from kickoff: Many like to classify Morocco as a defend-and-counter team, but as this compilation from the Morocco vs Portugal match shows, there’s plenty of quality buildup from Walid Regragui’s men:
Morocco’s quick transitions pic.twitter.com/jc9qEqnpmm
— TheBuildupPlay (@TheBuildupPlay) December 13, 2022
DECOURCY: Morocco’s run to the semifinal is no fluke
France vs Morocco lineups, team news
Multiple players were apparently feeling under the weather as a cold bug infiltrated the French squad and there was concern around the condition of starters Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano who fell ill in the days leading up to the semifinal and missed the last training session. But the latest reports from Qatar say both will start.
If either struggles during the match, Ibrahima Konate (for Upamecano) and Youssouf Fofana (for Rabiot) would be their natural replacements.
France (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) — 5. Kounde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 8. Tchouameni, 14. Rabiot — 11. Dembele, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappe — 9. Giroud
The Morocco lineup will mostly be the same from the victory against Portugal with only one change as Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui makes his return to the starting lineup at left-back after overcoming his bout with illness.
West Ham center-back Nayef Aguerd has reportedly still not recovered from his thigh injury and Real Valladolid’s Jaward El-Yamiq will continue to deputise. Even though he’s also carrying a knock, it appears centre-back Romain Saiss will push through and play.
Morocco (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Bono (GK) — 2. Hakimi, 18-El Yamiq, 6. Saiss, 25. Attiyah Allah — 8. Ounahi, 4. Amrabat, 15. Amallah — 7. Ziyech, 19. En-Nesyri, 17. Boufal
MORE: Why are Morocco called the Atlas Lions?
France vs Morocco live stream, TV channel
This second semifinal clash will be played at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Here’s how you can watch all the action in some of the major global territories.
| Date | Time | TV Channel | Streaming | |
| USA | Wed, Dec. 14 | 14:00 ET | Fox, Telemundo |
fuboTV, Fox Sports site/app, Telemundo Deportes site/app, Peacock |
| Canada | Wed, Dec. 14 | 14:00 ET | TSN 1, CTV, RDS (French) | TSN site/app, CTV website, RDS app |
| UK | Wed, Dec. 14 | 19:00 GMT | BBC One | BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website |
| Australia | Thu, Dec. 15 | 06:00 AEDT | SBS | SBS On Demand |
| India | Thu, Dec. 15 | 00:30 IST | Sports 18 | JioTV |
| Hong Kong | Thu, Dec. 15 | 03:00 HKT | Now TV (Ch. 616, 618) | Now TV |
| Malaysia | Thu, Dec. 15 | 03:00 MYT | Astro FIFA World Cup 1 | Astro GO |
| Singapore | Thu, Dec. 15 | 03:00 SGT | StarHub TV FIFA World Cup, Singtel FIFA World Cup 141 | Singtel TV GO, CAST, StarHub TV+, MeWatch |
| New Zealand | Thu, Dec. 15 | 08:00 NZDT | Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports | Sky Go, Sky Sport NOW |
