France has survived Paraguay’s snares, but Morocco poses a different threat
PHILADELPHIA — Is it hard to score in 100-degree heat or against Paraguay? France he had the unenviable task of needing to deal with both but survived to go on to win 1-0to see faces Morocco in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Boston which will be another tough battle. The two met in 2022 in the semi-finals with France winning 2-0, and the match could be very competitive.
Against Morocco, France can expect something similar to what they got in Paraguay on Saturday, and although they may not have the heat against them in Boston, with the level of talent in Morocco, the Atlas Lions will not put 10 behind the ball in the same way as Paraguay, but they will still play with more physicality and skill on the ball. France may have won on Saturday, but they needed the referee’s help to do it as they ran out of answers, and frustration mounted. Falling into the same traps as Morocco will also spell doom with penalty kicks helping them into the round of 16.
“I’ve never played a game like this, with so many hits, I mean, cheap shots, shoves in the back. So, it was difficult, but we won,” said French midfielder Kouadio Kone after the match.
The type of football and expertise in the dark arts is what France expected, but if the referees let the two teams play, that has not happened so much in this World Cup, and that is where this test has risen to another level. Allowing games to lean on the physical side to avoid stalling has been obvious, and even though it’s gotten too much at times, teams lean on it, knowing they have a long way to go. France thinks it will be ready when it sees it again.
“I think the referee could have given a few yellow cards; maybe that would have calmed them down a bit. Also, we knew they would try to throw us out of our game, because the coach had prepared us two or three days before,” said Saliba after the game. “Sometimes it’s clear that we can get frustrated too, we won’t let them get away. But we stayed focused, and like I said, we finished with 11 men, although we had a few yellow cards. But there are times, sometimes it’s battles, the game wanted that, and when you left, we fought a battle, we won it, we won it, we got 1, a fight, -0.”
Saliba is right that France has won the war, and we are reaching a certain point in this tournament where the teams’ rest time is starting to decrease. Not having to go to overtime will help, but the Heat saw a lot of foul play during the game, putting them in a situation they haven’t faced thus far.
After taking almost a week between games in the group stage, that has now been shortened to just five days, which is one of the reasons why Aurelien Tchouameni was unavailable after recovering from a knock. Saliba admitted that the heat had an effect but his team was able to concentrate, which is why they are heading to the quarterfinals.
“It was very hot today, so it was easy to get tired quickly. And, you know, if you don’t score early, the game can feel like a long, drawn-out game,” said Saliba. But we stayed focused despite the heat. “
Paraguay had a few chances, but Julio Enciso ran out of steam and was taken off in the 61st minute, while Miguel Almiron also had to be taken off after suffering an apparent hamstring injury. In Achraf Hakimi, Morocco will have a machine that can go 90, take his own chances and create others. As they demonstrate against In the NetherlandsMorocco can be physical when they need to be, and have been able to resist running, countering Canada before controlling that game.
“They are a strong team. They have beaten big countries throughout the tournament, and most importantly, they have never lost a single game,” said Saliba. “So we know it won’t be easy. They are a very good team; they defend well and have a lot of individual talent. First of all, we need to rest a bit; we are done now, and then we prepare well for the game.”
Morocco may be without their striker, Ismael Saibariin that game as it is reported that he injured a muscle, but this is not a team that relies on one person. Sufiane Rahimi came in and scored from the bench for the Atlas Lions when they scored three goals past Canada, becoming the first team to knock out a participating nation in the tournament. Improving their place throughout the World Cup since ending their drought in 2018, this is a Moroccan team that will not be afraid of danger and will go straight for it.
Didier Deschamps’ side struggled in their first real test of the tournament, but they will not be able to cope. If you do, their journey can come to an end where the team can do more than just punish them physically, but put the ball in the net and threaten their chances of winning it all.
