AL KHOR, Qatar (Reuters) - Mike Tyson claimed that everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face, which is precisely what happened to Morocco when they were bounced out of the World Cup in a 2-0 defeat by heavyweights France in their semi-final clash on Wednesday.
Morocco, the first African side to reach the last four of the World Cup, had built their success on brilliant defending and fast counter attacks, but they got a taste of their own medicine when France abandoned possession early on and struck after five minutes.
While they showed they were lively in attack, as Hugo Lloris had to stretch to parry away Azzedine Ounahi's fierce 25-metre strike, Morocco were exposed and Olivier Giroud went close on the counter when his brutal shot crashed onto the post. Morocco pushed hard after the break, giving Mbappe more and more space off the left flank. The Paris St Germain forward then switched to a lone-striker role when Marcus Thuram replaced Giroud on 65 minutes.
Substitute Randal Kolo Muani poked the ball home 11 minutes from time with his first touch after some brilliant work by Mbappe.
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