Mbappe

Holders France survived a scare before eventually seeing off a marvellous Morocco side to seal their place in a mouthwatering World Cup final against ...

Mbappe darted past Achraf Hakimi but could not hit the target with his resulting shot as Giroud passed up a great chance to double the lead, curling the rebound wide. The African side were not to be put off and could have been awarded a penalty as Sofiane Boufal tangled with Hernandez – but instead the former Southampton winger was booked for his part in the challenge. If there was a roof at Al Bayt Stadium, it would have come off had Hugo Lloris not been equal to an arrowed Azzedine Ounahi effort as Morocco looked to hit back, a sign of things to come from just the third nation outside of Europe and South America to have ever gone this far at a World Cup.

Paris St Germain team-mates Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will go head-to-head in Sunday's World Cup final as Argentina take on reigning champions France.

If France retain their title he would become the first player after Pele in 1962 to win two World Cups by the age of 23. In the absence of Karim Benzema there was more focus on Mbappe and he responded by scoring both goals against Denmark – including an 86th-minute winner – and with the game against Poland still in the balance he grabbed a double in the last 16 minutes to make things safe. With nine goals over two tournaments to his name Mbappe has already moved ahead of Pele for most World Cup goals scored before the age of 24. Mbappe has scored twice on two occasions and one of his two blank games was as a 63rd-minute substitute in the defeat to Tunisia. Messi has failed to score in only one of his six starts, although three goals have come from the penalty spot. Messi, at the age of 35, is looking to win his first World Cup at – in all probability – his last tournament while Mbappe, 12 years his junior, will join an elite group of players to have successfully defended the title should France repeat their feat of Russia 2018.

Injuries caught up with the brave African side - the worry is that a virus might now have a similar effect on France.

The success belongs above all to the coach, his players, and the millions of Moroccans who cheered them on in Qatar, at home, and in the Moroccan diaspora around the world. At the end the Moroccan players fell to the ground and wept. You can understand the coach being reluctant to break the hearts of players who have carried him to his highest point. So the drama of the injured player who should never have been on the pitch is a big-game affair. One of the worst things in football is when injured players miss the very biggest games. In the end their defeat is as anticlimactic as it is inevitable.

The fight to be the top scorer of the Qatar 2022 World Cup and win the Golden Boot is red hot and, as things stand, we have Lionel Messi in first position ...

- 2018: Harry Kane - England: 6 goals - Kylian Mbappe - France: 5 goals [Messi at his best is on his way to World Cup glory...

France will need Kylian Mbappé's brilliance to beat Lionel Messi's Argentina squad and repeat as World Cup champions.

[ FIFA World Cup 2022](/stories/soccer/world-cup-2022-odds-france-opens-as-favorite-over-argentina) ET, FOX and the FOX Sports app](https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup-men-w61-world-vs-w62-world-dec-18-2022-game-boxscore-97096)). Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. We said he was the new Pelé, and if he wins the World Cup again, he would be emulating Pelé. [Kylian Mbappé](https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/kylian-mbappe-2-player) refused to let it happen. They're a difficult team to face, and they seem to be on top form. And that was a change that really helped, because we were stronger on the left flank to help to defend. France’s defense bent but didn’t break, though, and eventually registered the World Cup holders’ first clean sheet though six matches in Qatar so far. Supporters of the Atlas Lions — the first African team ever to reach the final four — whistled derisively every time France touched the ball. There was plenty of time left for the Moroccans to equalize until Mbappé’s moment of brilliance effectively ended it. France came into the contest as the bookies' pick not just to beat Morocco but the favorite to win it all. "It wasn't an easy victory, but we showed our quality and experience and team spirit," Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps, whose team was visited by French president Emmanuel Macron in the locker room afterward, said in his postgame press conference.

Gary Breen joins Dan McDonnell and Aidan O'Hara on The Indo World Cup to relive France's 2-0 semi-final win over Morocco.