WATCH: France delights in reaching World Cup final

Image: Supplied

Image: Supplied

Published Dec 15, 2022

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France joins Argentina in the World Cup final, after beating a defiant Morocco side 2-0 in Doha. PSG star Kylian Mbappé played his part in both goals, scored by defender Theo Hernandez in the opening five minutes, followed by Randal Kolo Muani in the 79th minute.

As the final whistle blew, thousands of French fans spilled onto the streets of Paris and other cities to celebrate the victory. Much like the scenes of 2018, red flares were lit around town squares, fireworks shot into the sky - all to the sound of a constant volley of car horns honking throughout the night.

Along with the friendly celebrations between both side's fans, there were some reports of crowd trouble however between French and Moroccan supporters, with French riot police being called to break up and disperse groups of people

It's France's second consecutive World Cup final, and they hope to add a third star to their jersey.

Delight for Macron

Flying out for the game was French president Emmanuel Macron, who had nothing but praise for Les Bleus and manager Didier Deschamps. This is Deschamp's third outing at a World Cup final - twice as a manager and once as a player in 1998 - when he lifted the trophy as French captain.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Macron said: "Deschamps, that's three finals, yeah. And he wins them, you know what? There are never two without three! Deschamps is there with his 'barakah' and his talent. And we'll all be there behind him. We win it, we bring it back, we bring the World Cup home! !"

Macron flew to Doha for the semi-final, despite scrutiny after revelations of corruption among EU MEPs allegedly taking money from Qatar . Macron will also be present for the final.

No fairytale ending for Morocco

Morocco became the first African country to make it to the semi-finals in a tournament which saw them beat Spain, Portugal and Belgium in their path. Wednesday's match was the Atlas Lions' only defeat in the whole World Cup.

The Moroccan diaspora in France is also the largest in Europe, with more than a million Moroccans living in the country.

The stage is now set for a final between two powerhouse footballing nations: 2018 champions France will try to repeat their triumph against perennial favourites Argentina.

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