Reigning World Cup champions France will endeavour to keep their hopes of retaining their title alive when they take on Morocco in the semi-finals at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
After comfortably seeing off Poland 3-1 in the last 16, Les Bleus managed to scrape past England to win 2-1 in the quarter-finals on Saturday after a late Harry Kane penalty miss saw them reach the last four of the World Cup for the seventh time in their history.
A third world title is still firmly in sight for Didier Deschamps's side as they bid to become the first nation since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 to retain the World Cup.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at three reasons for France to be confident of making it through to the final and ending Morocco's fairy-tale run in Qatar.
Head-to-head record
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France have never lost in five previous official meetings with Morocco, winning three times and drawing twice. Wednesday's clash will be the first competitive meeting between the two nations, though.
Les Bleus' first encounter with Morocco came in 1988 when they secured a 2-1 friendly win courtesy of an own goal from Abdelmajid Lamris – who also scored at the other end for the Atlas Lions – and a strike from Yannick Stopyra.
Goals from Laurent Blanc and Youri Djorkaeff rescued a 2-2 draw for France in May 1998, before Djorkaeff scored the only goal in a slender 1-0 victory just eight months later.
France's biggest victory over Morocco came in 2000 when they secured a 5-1 success in Casablanca, with Djorkaeff again on the scoresheet along with Thierry Henry, Christophe Dugarry, Nicolas Anelka and Sylvan Wiltord.
The most recent meeting between the two nations saw a 2-2 draw played out in 2007, with goals from France duo Sidney Govou and Samir Nasri cancelled out by Morocco's Tarik Sektioui and Youssef Mokhtari, the latter of whom netting an 85th-minute equaliser.
World Cup pedigree
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While Morocco are currently competing in just their sixth World Cup finals, France are making their 16th appearance on the biggest international stage in Qatar and have a wealth of experience both on the pitch and in the dugout.
Ten players within Les Bleus' current squad won the World Cup four years ago, while manager Didier Deschamps is one of only three people to win the biggest international prize as both a player and a manager.
Indeed, Deschamps has won 13 of his 17 World Cup matches in charge of France and a victory against Morocco would draw him level with Luiz Felipe Scolari (14) and move him just two behind Helmut Schon (16) for the most World Cup wins as a manager.
France know what it takes to reach the latter stages of the World Cup, after progressing to the final in three of the last six tournaments, and they will fancy their chances of advancing to another showpiece event in Qatar with a win over a Morocco side competing in their first-ever semi-final.
France's formidable attacking foursome
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Morocco have the best defensive record at this year's World Cup, conceding just once in five matches, but Deschamps will be confident that his formidable attacking foursome of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud can cause problems in the final third on Wednesday.
Indeed, Mbappe is the top scorer in Qatar with five goals in as many matches and has won the joint-most man-of-the-match awards along with Lionel Messi (three). Giroud, meanwhile, is just one goal behind his compatriot with four and will become the oldest player to reach five World Cup goals in a single tournament should he find the net against Morocco.
While Mbappe and Giroud have been firing on all cylinders, scoring nine of France's 11 goals between them at this year tournament, Griezmann and Dembele have taken up the playmaker duties in Deschamps's side and have registered five assists between them, with the former out in front with three along with England's Harry Kane and Portugal's Bruno Fernandes.
Two of Griezmann's assists were provided during a standout performance in the number 10 role in the 2-1 quarter-final win over England, while Dembele has also looked a constant threat down the right flank in Qatar with his blistering pace and crossing ability, complementing Mbappe on the opposite wing.
Read more on France vs Morocco
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- How France could line up against Morocco
- How Morocco could line up against France
Oliver Thomas
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