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WCAD 4-42: La France inévitable
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Austin and Amit recap the first Quarterfinal: France's incredibly impressive, seemingly inevitable 2-0 win over Morocco.
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Transcript
Enjoyment and Concerns of World Cup Outcomes
00:00:01
Speaker
By all accounts, we have had what I think we, and particularly we here at the World Cup After Dark, have termed a very good World Cup so far. But I have to say, admit that despite this very good World Cup with all its very good games, all its very intriguing storylines, I'm starting to worry that this whole endeavor is starting to feel just that little bit inevitable.
France's Dominance and Skill
00:00:26
Speaker
France are certainly making it seem that way, aren't they? They've been really, really good. They haven't really had to sweat to be really good. It's extremely concerning for everyone else. And, you know, we're going to hold out hope. We've got to play the games that maybe someone will give them a game. But...
00:00:42
Speaker
played a very good team today and made it look pretty one way. So we'll talk about it. We will. I think everyone's gonna asking the same thing, right?
Argentina's Improvement and Alise's Impact
00:00:50
Speaker
ah Like, how do the you know how do you stop this team?
00:00:53
Speaker
doesn't even look like they're trying. And when that's what they're asking about you, it's a good place to be. And the other thing I'll say is like – Man, Argentina 2022. What a tremendous, tremendous achievement. And look, it's not the same team, right? think they've upgraded since then with Alise being a big, big part of that.
00:01:12
Speaker
um But certainly the conversations ah we're having about this team are have to be adjusted. This is the World Cup After Dark Podcast.
France's Poise Under Pressure
00:01:21
Speaker
I'm Austin Miller. He is a bit Malik. I think, right, we've now two straight games here where France get to the precipice of sweating, right? They get to the hour mark in a 0-0 game, and you're like... All right.
00:01:35
Speaker
Didier Deschamps, he might be looking in his pockets. He might be trying to figure something out. like And then they just score, and that just kind of ends. And it just speaks to the dominance that we've seen for France. They came into this tournament as the favorites, and through the quarterfinals, nobody's really laid a glove
Weather Challenges and France's Adaptation
00:01:53
Speaker
on them.
00:01:53
Speaker
Like, Senegal are probably the closest anybody got to them, and they lost that game 3-1 after having fallen behind 2-0. That speaks to just how good it has been to France and and to what you just brought up as well.
00:02:07
Speaker
I also don't think we've seen anything close to France's top gear yet. And they've been kind of the team that I think have had to be the most affected team by weather, right? Like they've played all of their games in the Northeast. They've played all of their games in open air stadiums. They've played in in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York.
00:02:24
Speaker
It's been hot. It's been humid. I don't think we've seen France's top gear. We haven't seen them sweat on the pit. Like we've seen them sweat literally because it's been hot. And I think that is probably what's most concerning here is I don't even know how many more gears France has to get to because they just haven't really been tested.
France's Offensive Talent Collection
00:02:42
Speaker
That just speaks to how impressive they've been.
00:02:45
Speaker
Right. i agree wholeheartedly. There's a real possibility they could win this tournament without having to dip into those gears. And at a certain point, like, DeChomp is a very good manager and he's, you know, over his whole career earned his you know reputation and credit.
00:03:02
Speaker
But a certain point, it's just this this collection of attacking talent is, when I said you have to have the conversation a little bit differently, got to put them in some conversations for really really rare air. It's too early for me to say more than that. Just kind of hint at it.
The Challenge of Beating France
00:03:18
Speaker
But what we're seeing is, is outrageous. Like a game like this, this is a great example. Like,
00:03:23
Speaker
They just, there's there's no window small enough that they can't hurt you, right? The thing with this team is you have to be perfect for 90 minutes or more just to just to hang. And that is, you know, so, so hard. um the The ways they're hurting you are out of increasingly little things. And that is just music to DeChamp's ears. He's like, he's not concerned at all.
00:03:52
Speaker
And so...
France's Expected Goals (XG) Anomaly
00:03:54
Speaker
I don't know. We're going to see. We're going to see. There's still two more games to go. But look, both of us said this whole time from four months going in that France would be the favorites on our preview podcast. We both agreed France are the favorites.
00:04:07
Speaker
um I think we both have France in the final. So nothing has really shaken them from that. We have another quarterfinal tomorrow, Spain, Belgium. um If Spain win, we will talk about that game and we hope you come join us then. But until then, I mean, i think everyone's thinking the same thing about this France team.
00:04:24
Speaker
you give this France team an inch and they just kill you with it. And that has kind of been the story of them, the entirety of this tournament. Like we saw a really dogged, good defensive performance from Paraguay. They gave France an inch on a play in the box. It turned into a penalty. We saw Morocco who weren't super dogged defensively, but they were like getting a good goalkeeping performance. They were getting a couple of breaks and they gave killing him puppy an inch and he just shredded them with it and he killed them with it. And like,
00:04:52
Speaker
They, like you said, they score goals from positions that mere mortals scoring goals from those positions would be stunning results, right? Like XG doesn't capture what this France team does because 0.15 XG chances through slivers of windows are good chances for this team. And that just breaks the math of this all.
00:05:15
Speaker
It does. They can settle or hunt these types of low shots from distance because, you know, shooting from distance is a skill. Like soccer is not played on a spreadsheet. Like if you can score these kinds of goals.
00:05:28
Speaker
Yeah. Like you're saying, the math gets a little bit warped a little bit. Like there's, there is something to killing and Bop a being an excellent, historically good ball striker. And with him and at least say and a belly, it's their ability to generate power from not like big windups, right? Their their foot strength, their their their window, like the anticipation to get it off when that space is a quarter space or an inch or a foot before you're even ready to
France's Unstoppable Attack
00:05:58
Speaker
stop it. And so I will say from the math point of view, right, they can't keep doing this. They can't keep scoring all these goals. But at the same time, right before that goal in this game, they had put up like 2XG basically. So like...
00:06:12
Speaker
Whether you want to math nerd it you know on totality or on small shots, like you're just draw dead and ways to stop this attack. So as you think about how to stop them, like you've...
00:06:27
Speaker
You've got to get a bit lucky and on both sides of the ball. think Morocco got a bit lucky defensively, but it was not enough, right? You were always going to need a goal or two somewhere. I think that's the biggest thing for Morocco in this game, a really, really talented team. i think against any of the other three quarter finalists, even without Saibari, could have had something. Today, without Saibari...
00:06:49
Speaker
They showed you everything they could, and it was nowhere nowhere near enough to slow the France runaway train. I think that's just like a testament to France. like The level you need to to to to even make them sweat right is just ridiculous. We've talked a lot about half spaces in this World Cup. like You and I have really keyed in on that as something of like teams that can take advantage of half spaces can have a lot of success because it's just so difficult to take away all of the space all of the time in a tournament like this. And there is obviously no team better in the world of international football right now of taking advantage of those half spaces than this France team.
00:07:28
Speaker
And they are probably also, amit crucially, the best team in the world at creating those half spaces. And so they're good at creating half spaces. They're good at taking advantage of half spaces. It makes it so difficult. And today, Morocco didn't have an outlet. And without Saibari,
00:07:44
Speaker
just never really felt like they were going to be able to get anything going in the attack. And like they tried to take advantage of counterattacking opportunities, but every time they did, they lose the ball and you're just petrified of what's coming back the other way.
00:07:58
Speaker
Yeah, France never got caught with more than four defender less than four defenders back. There's a handful of counterattacks in the first half, right? In the second half,
Morocco's Struggles Against France
00:08:08
Speaker
even there's maybe... Or even in the first half, there's one five on four. One five on four. And they get a corner kick out of it. There's a penalty kick in the first half, right? That's one moment where Morocco get caught up the field with their outside back, Hakimi, and they lose the ball. And so just like...
00:08:28
Speaker
The math on how to play this team basically tells you you need to do what Paraguay did, which is like a bad thing. And that's not the answer. You have to live with the risk.
00:08:39
Speaker
But yeah, the the way this team is demanding you guard them is a real problem. So Mohamed Wabi, the Moroccan manager, had a bit of a conundrum here because as we mentioned, he had no Saibari and he had Riyad, Chadi Riyad as his second center back. So he had to try and solve those problems in this game. I think he solved his defensive problem as about as well as he could have, right? So he bumps Mosrawi into center back and he brings on Anas Salah-Erin, the left back at Roma, who felt like he was going to be a weak link here, but in 74 minutes of play, I didn't think was much a weak link. I think he held his own pretty well.
00:09:17
Speaker
His attacking
Lack of Striker and Morocco's Missed Opportunities
00:09:18
Speaker
problem is probably the bigger one, right? And so rather than sticking with Sufjan Rahimi, who played and scored against Canada, he decides to play without a traditional nine, play without a traditional striker. And he brings in Chesmanin Talbi, the Sunderland winger midfield player and pairs him with Unahi, Brahim Diaz and El Canoos and basically plays strikerless for this game.
00:09:43
Speaker
which I think had the effect of not giving Morocco a pure outlet in this game. And they just kind of had midfield players that couldn't really combine with each other well enough to take advantage of the kind of two on four, three on five opportunities that France give you. And look, I think that was always going to be a difficult ask for Morocco, but even with Hakimi,
00:10:06
Speaker
I think being a very advanced fullback in this game, right? There are moments in this game where like El Canoose is coming all the way back to play right back so that Hakimi can move centrally in possession.
00:10:18
Speaker
Morocco, I think, tried a lot of things here, but it's just such a hard equation.
France's Pressure on Morocco
00:10:23
Speaker
i don't think there was an answer with the players that they had. I don't think so, right? It's kind of a lose-lose. You play Rahimi and you might feel like he's too disconnected from the team. You play Diaz and you're hoping to swarm midfield and keep the ball.
00:10:38
Speaker
But then when you actually went going forward, you just ran into a wall of France bodies. And France, like you can have the possession up to like... 40 or 50 yards but then you do nothing and that's just kind of the way like I say it's a lose-lose so it was really unfortunate look I thought France's defensive shape was really good they never really got caught out they never lost Hakimi that was the danger man Diaz, yeah, like you knew he's good, but he's he's on an island. to get the ball, he had to get out of places dangerous. And if he was anywhere dangerous, he never had help because Morocco never could help him with runners like they did once with Hakimi and get exposed. So...
00:11:17
Speaker
I thought this was a really, really good game for Desiree Dwey defensively. He's the guy that picks off Hakimi. He's the guy that gets a transition on a chance that he also misses in the first half.
00:11:29
Speaker
His defensive work rate was excellent. And look... I don't think Mbappe, Alise, or DiBelle are winning any awards anytime soon as pressers. But they didn't really – it's not like they have to chase, right? France just, like, move their block into your block. And, like, in a hot day, like, you can't escape without an outlet. So I thought once France knew that, and they always knew that when they see the lineup – Like they just they were never stretched space wise. And it was just it looked like a very good day for their for their front four pressing Morocco. Morocco try to build out at points and it goes very, very poorly when they do.
00:12:06
Speaker
Yeah. So like France are generally very content to give you defensive possession. Like they will largely in a game give you defensive possession for free. If if you're passing the ball around with your center backs and full backs and defensive midfielders,
00:12:19
Speaker
On the whole, France don't particularly care about you doing that. But sometimes they do turn on a semi-press and they're not a pressing team, like you said. like and As you said, Mbappe, Olisse, Dembele, they're not going to win awards for their pressing. It's not a counter-press that's putting you in immediate danger.
00:12:35
Speaker
But every so often, those guys get it under their skin and they do press and they do run at you. And the space just disappears like that. And I don't know if it's something intentional that France are doing,
00:12:46
Speaker
But their whole not pressing bit until they do, it can catch a team off and it can put a team in awkward positions. Yeah, like Buwadi, a great player on the ball. El Inouye,
Strategic Pressure Application by France
00:12:56
Speaker
great player on the ball. Like, you think you have time. And then just when they smell the turn that you're not seeing them, they go. And they go when you don't see it. It's really smart. Look, you guys are really smart players. And like, specifically...
00:13:09
Speaker
I think one of the worst things for world football was Luis Enrique going to PSG because he taught Barcala, Due, and Di Bele how to press like in a really good shape because they do press at PSG. And like Dechamp, in general, like likes to just play a control ball. But these guys are really smart defensively. And like maybe it's not fair to say they don't get awards. like There is an art to it that like clearly this France team, right? We've been watching these guys for a long time. Yeah. I think they're a bit smarter off the ball than they were the last two cycles. Even Mbappe has bought in. And so, like, yes, it's – we say it's not the Spain, like, rev up the counter press. But it's it's really scary. Like, Morocco are good on the ball. And when they did get it settled, they could maybe have a minute or two.
00:13:54
Speaker
But, like, when France want to, it's really tough. And Boadi is a player who's had a really good world cup. He's a young player that has, is getting a lot of flowers, right? He's 18 year old. He's at Leo. All of the big clubs are circling.
00:14:06
Speaker
He found a level today, right? And it was like, Oh, all right. This is just a whole different level. And look, France are the level. They are the bar. They are as high as it gets. I think France did a really good job of making him uncomfortable. So.
00:14:18
Speaker
France start this game on the on the front foot. I mean, right? There's two saves from Essene Bono in the first four minutes. Mbappe has like this kind of half space between shot that he takes. And then France actually get a really good chance on the ensuing quarter from Uwe Mekano.
00:14:31
Speaker
And that's the thing for Morocco. And it's kind of similar to what we saw from Paraguay in that Morocco get to halftime at nil-nil in this game, and they do it they have to work a lot harder for it than I think Paraguay did, at least as far as stopping chances.
France Capitalizes on Moroccan Mistakes
00:14:45
Speaker
But they got a great performance from their goalkeeper. France are just so good that they can really shrug that off. I thought France started well, and then naturally, like you said,
00:14:54
Speaker
The first time that Morocco have a string of possession in this game, it ends in a France counter and it ends in a penalty for France. And all it is, literally all it is, Amit, it's a heavy touch from out-trap Hakimi, right? He's all the way forward.
00:15:06
Speaker
Ball comes in. He just touches it heavy. It's not like Morocco had committed all these numbers forward. It's not like they made a bad pass. Hakimi literally makes one heavy touch and France are absolutely off. They break.
00:15:17
Speaker
It ends in killing Mbappe going one-on-one the other way. And Masraoui, the center back in this game, who's usually the left back, comes across, goes to ground, and it's a penalty. And this is also not like a cheap kick the ball at hand penalty. This is an earned a penalty by creating a one-on-one situation of putting a defender and a goalkeeper in a really bad spot.
00:15:36
Speaker
It is. And again, this is why you say like you have to do what Paraguay do. And again, it's not that Gustavo Alfaro is some genius. It's just like the fear of any space, of any moment of space for Mbappe in transition is that terrifying, right? He gets one, he gets a pen.
00:15:54
Speaker
like That's 0.7xg. Uh-oh. So then you should adjust accordingly. And it's not like... It's so hard in soccer to think that way that you just have to play like Pargo. I'm not, neither of us are saying that we're just like in awe of how tough this is in space. And this is why generally against a team better than you, you need to be very careful with your outside backs.
00:16:17
Speaker
And the only other thing I'll add here is like, we've been saying all tournament Masrari has put on good tape. I thought he was X against Netherlands. This was a tougher game for him today. And it's like, you know, The level of like he's a Manchester United left back. He's playing out of position against France. Like think he's a good player, but the level today was above his level. And he's a very good level, right? He's like now a Champions League player with Manchester United.
00:16:42
Speaker
They're levels. And, you know, France really, really had had joy kind of giving him the dribbles. So France win this penalty and you think, all right, that's pretty much it. Cause we saw this movie against Parra, you give these guys a penalty and it's in the back of the net, but it's just all kind of weird here. There's an unnecessarily long VAR check and Bappe who like gets into his pre-penalty routines, like very focused on taking this penalty has to kind of step away from it, step off. It almost feels like a golfer over a putt who like steps off it and then has to come back on it. And he just never really gets it right. And I think this is also really good from from his scene Bono in that he right as Mbappe starts and kind of does this stutter.
00:17:23
Speaker
Bono faints to his right really strong, but without committing and without going hard. He makes like a big show of like, oh, I'm going right. But he doesn't actually really do anything. That gives him time to recover
Bono's Penalty Saves and Skills
00:17:34
Speaker
back left. He goes down and it's in all honesty, a poor penalty from Mbappe. It's low on the ground to shooters, right? Goalkeepers left and Bono makes a really good safe here. And this is an absolutely absurd stat in it, but in the world cup now there have been nine penalties taken against bono including shootouts and only two of them have been made that is two of nine on a point on a 70 chance right if we say a goal is a penalty is 0.7 xg two of nine against a single goalkeeper is ridiculous this was really good
00:18:05
Speaker
Really, truly good. He's an elite penalty kick shot stopper. He's an elite shot stopper. And look, I think at advanced, advanced levels of goalkeeping, when you're up there in the rare air, you can counter the stuff good penalty kick takers do, right? You can counter the stutter with a perfectly timed feint. And look, we've seen this for years, right? You go back to the Dudek noodle back in 2005 in Istanbul. like You can give a guy a shimmy and then go the other way.
00:18:31
Speaker
But it's really hard to try because if you get the timing wrong, you look really stupid. So I think this is one way to counter the stutter. And we'll say, like, you're killing Mbappe. Why are you stuttering? Pick the spot you like and hit it there. If you hit your spot, he ain't getting there. So um to be fair, like...
00:18:48
Speaker
Mbappe probably needs to do his whole reset the routine before taking this. I mean, like, obviously it's maybe like wish casting by us, but like, it does look like he loses his focus, right? Like, I don't know. Look again, analyzing penalties, it amounts to vibes in some sense, but like bad pen, good goalkeeper. You don't need to say more than that.
00:19:08
Speaker
It was unnaturally long. the chain It just felt all felt off and it ended in an off result. And France just kind of shake it off, right? It goes to the water break and we come out of of the water break and Boadi makes this play where he tries to turn in
Mbappe's Goal and France's Dominance
00:19:23
Speaker
the midfield. And it's almost like, all right, Boadi, you're good, but you're not that good You can't turn on the midfield with a guy on your back shoulder against France. Douai wins it, breaks, and Bono has to get a hand on it to push it wide. Bono was really good in the first half. Dinier hit the bar from distance. I thought, obviously, Bono really kept Morocco in the game. I think there's four saves here and maybe five if that Dinier chance that hit the hit the crossbar if we save Bono got a hand to that. um He's what keeps Morocco in this, and France just kind of kept going anyway.
00:19:53
Speaker
Yeah, it was a great half from France with the penalty, which we agree is earned. They put up 1.9 XG. And so like then you just say, man, your goalkeeper just put on a half of his lifetime, which is like you're checking the boxes for what Morocco need. The issue was like this doesn't ruffle from France either as we get to the second half. Yeah.
00:20:13
Speaker
So Morocco get a good counter chance early in the second half. It's really their only good counter chance in a nil-nil game here. And like this is what you're scrapping for against France. like You are hoping that you get one good counter chance and you can take it. And Morocco got it. And I don't know that Brahim Diaz made the right decision here. So the ball comes to Brahim Diaz. And it's a tight angle, right? It's not a great shooting angle, but I think you want him to just put his laces through this and shoot and see if you can test my again. Instead, he chooses to try and stand it up to kind of the back post for Talby.
00:20:46
Speaker
And it's like, you don't have the guys in the game to play the stand up at the back post ball. like Like your guy that you're hoping to do that is is is on the bench and Rahimi, like that's the guy that you should be playing this ball to. He's not there. i think Diaz should probably shoot this one.
00:21:01
Speaker
I agree with you. And and even in shooting, it it's like a.1xg chance, but like he's got to shoot, right? It's that exact type of half space that France shoot him. He has maybe not quite the pure ball striking strength as Mbappe, but when it happens, we're all watching. You think your brain's blinking, go, go, go, and it doesn't happen. I'm with you like...
00:21:22
Speaker
The clear, clear weakness for Morocco in this game was the lack of ah of an outlet up top in many ways. And as we get to the goal, which we're about to talk about, Morocco are like five minutes away, like three minutes away from getting Rahimi and Amrabat on. And listen, what happens next probably still, or what happens is still probably France. Just turn the dial and go. But like, Uwabi's timing Yeah.
00:21:47
Speaker
old works So we're an hour into the game and you're starting to think, as we said at the start of the show, all right, France might be sweating a little bit. Like we might have to c see Deshaun, you know, maybe have to do something here. He might have to like put on a new player or like change a guy and like put five forward instead of four.
00:22:05
Speaker
until he does it because it's it's Rabiot who wins the ball back France kind of they have possession they apply pressure Morocco kind of half win the ball back and then they lose it immediately to Rabiot it gets the ball from from Rabiot to I'm pretty sure it's Dwayne here Dwayne finds Mbappe and it's Mbappe half chance half space and it's in the back of the net it's one-on-one with Diop and Diop who was really good for Morocco the entirety of this tournament kind of backs off and he gets tight Because admit he doesn't want to have an arm out that Mbappe's shot is going to catch an arm for a handball.
00:22:40
Speaker
And b he doesn't want his legs to be open because we've seen Kylian Mbappe score goals through open legs. And so he makes himself really narrow in order to avoid those two things. And Mbappe's like, all right, I can't go through you. I'll just go around you. Because guess what?
00:22:54
Speaker
When you made yourself narrow, there's now a half-inch spot between the post and what the goalkeeper can cover getting to the post. And you know where I can put my shot into that half inch spot. And that's exactly what Mbappe does. He just curls it. And there's a diving, a scene, Bono, who's like scrambling to get to his post.
00:23:11
Speaker
And he covers probably 95% of the space between where he was originally and where this ball ends up. But in that one space that's open here between where Diop is narrow covering and Bono is diving over to make the save. That's where killing a Bopay puts this ball. And it's just like,
00:23:29
Speaker
If they can do that, what are we even doing here? It's extremely disheartening. And it's an arcade style goal. It's a FIFA style goal, right? Because he's got like 99 shot from distance. And you play online sometimes back in the days when I used to play a lot of FIFA online. You play a guy, someone like Mbappe, and the the kids hunt these shots and they're bad shots for anyone else. But when you know it's...
00:23:57
Speaker
that that far out is like a bucket for that guy you have to kind of change the way you defend it but it's so scary because you're worried he's going to dribble by you so there's a half so as soon as he faces up first of all you're in trouble because you've opened up the triple threat and deops in trouble but there's this half second where it freezes and you're just like oh no it's open and he's And Mbappe sees it before anyone else. And it's just that snapshot where he's seen the curl the whole time. And he knows he's hunting that shot from distance. You shouldn't be able to hunt like a point for yeah he's not even this isn't Sidney Lopez Cabral, right? Like, it's not like that, where he just uncorked the greatest strike of his life. This is just, oh, yeah, I, you know, i do this all the time. In fact, I've done this exact curl all the time. I've seen this window all the time. The reverse angle of the ball is so, so satisfying. Because the the it's outside the post from strike to net. It's never inside the post, the whole spin. And it's just, I mean, like we're running out of things to say for Mbappe, who is, you know, got superpowers of his own on the pantheon of all the great soccer players.
00:25:10
Speaker
I like the the triple threat comparison that you're making here because that's almost what it is. And Diop covers two of the three threats. So like, all right, Mbappe is either going to shoot it through you, he's going to shoot it around you, or and he's going to go by you. And you just you stepped up so that he can't like get by you. Right. And so Diop is like, all right, I'm not going to get, he's not going to get by me. Like i'm I'm in enough space here that I can back off. So he's not going to get by me.
00:25:33
Speaker
And he's gone through a lot of guys this tournament. So to make sure he doesn't go through me. And Mbappe is like, all right, that's fine. I'm going around you. And you said it, and I just want to emphasize this. The behind the shot angle of this is just ridiculous because you're following the ball and it's just curling. And you're like, that's not on target. That's not on target. That's not on target. Oh, look, it's on target. It's in.
00:25:52
Speaker
It's like, oh my God. And in the moment where it's on target and in, you also have a goalkeeper who is like centimeters away from getting a glove to it. It's just absolutely insane.
00:26:04
Speaker
Look, it's like in basketball when these guys, you know, maybe around 2013, 2014 started hitting step back threes. Like you you got to take away the drive. You got to take away a set one, but you can't take that away. But in basketball, there's a lot more incentive, right? Because it's worth, you know, three is worth more than two. It's not worth extra at soccer. You just have to be nice at it. And when these guys are nice at it, right, it changes the geometry ah of how you defend them.
00:26:28
Speaker
Look, it's it's exceedingly cruel. like you just like when these when like We're watching a team that has a level that is different. That's what's so annoying about France. like It's not just that they're good. It's that they're beating you in ways that you can't stop. That's like truly like an analysis level of like you can't stop that. Well, and like, these are the things that you concede to other teams because they're not high quality chances. Like you allow teams to take these half space shots when you've defended it this well, because there are so few players in the world who are consistently going to score on it. But Hylian Mbappe is one of the players in the world that's going to consistently score on it. So Morocco immediately make two changes, right? Boadi and Elkanus come off, Amrabat and Rahimi come in. They're, I think, trying to kind of get a foothold in this game before it goes to the hydration break and admit they just don't get there. Because the second that they start to like slowly migrate forward, France is just like, oh, there's a lot of space for us
France Seals Victory with Efficiency
00:27:26
Speaker
now. All that space that you didn't give us before, you've now given us and we are immediately going to take advantage of it.
00:27:32
Speaker
And so it's just a Morocco throw in in the midfield and France just kind of nudge the lever forward. And this isn't even like France pressing really higher, playing really hard. It's just like, we're just going to go that 10% harder in this one moment. And it's just absolute death for you.
00:27:48
Speaker
And so a throw in in the midfield ends in Dembele running forward, all of the Moroccan defenders running backwards. And he just, takes a shot and Bono dives and he gets a hand to it. And whereas in other moments in this game, all the hands, he got to the ball, push them wide.
00:28:02
Speaker
This one does it. It's in the back of the net. It's two nil. It's game over. Good game. Thanks for coming. We'll see you next week. ruthless, ruthless from France. It's the one, exactly like you're saying the the one time outside of the penalty kick in the first half that Morocco are sprinting backwards. And you realize you, when you're at this level, you just can't be sprinting backwards, right? Masrai and Diop are both frozen on this play. They're going backwards because they, they have to, to back off to Bella and he's really, really good. This is his right footed curl finish. What did we see him doing back in the group stage a couple weeks ago was curling these left footed beauties. He's a two footed player. And yeah,
00:28:37
Speaker
When these two-footed players drive at you, you're in jail because you don't know what to take away. And he just gets to his spot. Good spin. Yeah, I mean, can Mizrahi and Diab do better here? I don't know. I think if you step up, he's going to probably give you a one-on-one move and get a better XG shot, right? Same thing. When you're in space, you have to give up something. And so...
00:29:00
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, like you said, this is off a throwing. It's not off of much. But it was like a TV – there was like an ad or something, like a a a replay on the world feed. And then immediately you look at the screen and you're like, why is DeBelley running at these guys? Oh, no, it's too late. And this whole podcast, we're just kind of giggling at the inevitability of France. Yeah.
00:29:22
Speaker
there's you you can't feel safe with anything right now. It is a scary, scary team. And like, I think if you're being very harsh, you can almost ask for Yasin Bono to do a bit more here. He gets a hand to it. But like this guy already made five saves in the first half, all of them like ranging from difficult to very difficult. And like, you just can't keep calling on your goalkeeper to keep bailing out in situations like this. And like, I didn't even think this wasn't even like bad goalkeeping. It's just like perfect goalkeeping maybe keeps this shot out and they didn't get it. But this is just the in inevitable, the inevitability of France and the constant danger that France apply on teams from this point on. I don't,
00:30:01
Speaker
don't think there's a ton more to to talk about here. France just kind of then back that lever back off and just say, come at us Morocco. You're not really to be able to do anything. Killing Mbappe goes off in the 77th minute in this game.
00:30:13
Speaker
It looked worrisome live, but then he kind of walks off. Normally there's a cut to him on the bench with ice on his ankle. There's some time France don't have to play their semifinal until Tuesday.
00:30:26
Speaker
Obviously missing killing them. Bop. It would be huge, general reaction like one hour after the game ends think this is going to be okay yeah I agree we'll we'll have to to monitor the situation the way he came off made me not worried but we'll see um And Morocco really don't get anything here. that They get a shot on target. there There's one glancing header from El Ainui off a corner that could have made this a 2-1 game. But again, that's what we're dealing with here is like you're thinking about maybe making it a one goal game down the stretch. and And that's just how good France were. We've spent a lot of time talking about France on this podcast. We will spend a lot more time talking about France. We will obviously have a big preview of their semifinal. Let's talk a touch about Morocco to close this show a minute.
00:31:08
Speaker
They made the semifinals in 2022 and were eliminated with a 2-0 loss to France. They make the quarterfinals here and are eliminated with a 2-0 loss to France. They have gradually moved their way up the
Morocco's Progress in World Football
00:31:20
Speaker
FIFA rankings. They are, at least as of this recording, champions of Africa.
00:31:24
Speaker
This is a really good team with a really good program that I think has everything in front of them to be in the second tier of world contenders for a long time.
00:31:37
Speaker
But even if you're in that tier, there is still another level to get to a team like France. I think you you said it perfectly. That kind of matches exactly my thoughts. I thought in ways this tournament was more impressive and more reflective of their work that their federation has done to not make 2022 feel like a fluke. And it wasn't. ah you You nailed it. Like they are stably in this tier. They're pathways are are really good the the france and spain and everywhere across europe they're getting these guys too and they're producing talent i think at all sorts of positions um saibari right and that's the one where you're regretting if we have this guy today and he's fully healthy maybe then we're closer to a top four team than we were today can we get physicality at at at all three phases
00:32:28
Speaker
And so hopefully, you know, there's ah there's another run with some of these guys in four years and they have Sabari and they're closer. Look, the the truth of international soccer is like...
00:32:39
Speaker
outside of three countries, no one can produce talent at all 11 positions to be good. Morocco are close, right? They're getting guys at, you know, eight, nine positions that are world-class. And so, like, that's about as good as you can get. And one of these times, I think sometimes the best team in the world is more gettable than this current France team. I still think France, you know, I don't want to go all the way and give them all these plaudits, but there's certainly a lot of chatter about, like,
00:33:10
Speaker
this might be a level in international soccer you just aren't supposed to get to. Right? And so, like, it's really, really it's it's really really tricky to unseat a team like this. i think if you're Morocco, you again, I said this at the start, you could have beaten maybe Spain and may You feel maybe pretty good about Argentina or England.
00:33:29
Speaker
So honestly, i'm I'm impressed with the work they've done in the four years to solidify. Let's see what happens for them in the next few years. You know, we you know we don't really talk it that much. There is a whole Hakimi situation. We'll see how that unfolds. um The rest of their pipeline, or the rest of their talent, though, is still really good. Brahim Diaz is awesome. their start Their central five midfielders are the heart and soul of this team on their technicality. they are also under 20 world cup champions. And then they had one player from that squad in this team. So like it's coming. And when you look at the starting 11 today, right? Akimi is, is 29 and might have some legal problems, but still 33 and four years time. You know, you think that photo is 35, but also he's a goalkeeper that ages differently. 39 year old Bono, ah you know, saving money.
00:34:16
Speaker
I'm sorry, my brain went to Spanish there and I was gonna like go at the hotting, but then like, that's not a word that say ah thirty a 30, a 39 year old bono playing goalkeeper in four years time. Doesn't feel like a terrible thing. Everybody else in this team is right in the window to where in four years. And that has always been the goal for Morocco, right? They are co-hosts of the 2030 world cup.
00:34:34
Speaker
They're in a big fight with Spain where Morocco wants to be the host of the final Spain, obviously want the final in Madrid. So like they are, planning on playing a very big role in four years time. And look, you look at the live FIFA rankings, they're sixth in the world based on their performance at this world cup. And it doesn't feel like that is an overstatement. I think this team is is firmly among the second tier level of teams.
00:34:56
Speaker
And I think the point you made Amit, This France might be as good of a number one team World Cup favorite as we might ever see. And look, maybe France just run it back four years from now and they can count on all four of these guys at the same type of high level.
00:35:09
Speaker
That's a long time in domestic football. it's a long time in international football.
Morocco's Player Development Systems
00:35:13
Speaker
But yeah, where morocco at is where Morocco is at right now is, I think, a really good place. It's a program that's going to be able to contend, truly contend for titles when it's not Death Star at the top. And you're just trying to make another semifinal two and see what happens. The other thing you'll say about Morocco, manager Uwabi, you know, he's pretty good.
00:35:33
Speaker
While Leveragri did a really good job at 2022, I think Uwabi is solid. I don't think he was fantastic or excellent, but I think he was solid. He did a good job at the AFCON. And a lot of these tier two teams have illusions about what they should do. um You're looking at Germany, you're looking at Netherlands, you maybe Belgium, certainly Brazil. And i don't think the managing shot in Morocco in the foot at any point here. The Federation is very clear eyed top to bottom, where a lot of these old aging giants are reckoning with not being France, Spain or England. which is really, really hard. Like, they used to be these guys were were just the top of the pile because of what they were. It's not the case anymore. Morocco, I think, are very clear about how they get as close as they can to the top of the pile.
00:36:19
Speaker
And I think Wabe is really interesting because right. He comes in after the AFCON, after they get rid of Rigogui. And he was the guy who led them to the under 20. Like he was the under 20 Morocco manager who led them to the under 20 world cup title. And I think that's like speaks to the pipeline and speaks to kind of the top bottom, top to bottom success that Morocco are looking to have. And I think it's really interesting. You say that everybody else is reckoning with not being France, Spain, and England. what is the best thing you can do if you are not France, Spain, and England?
00:36:49
Speaker
It's have access to French and Spanish development systems. And that's what Morocco will have, right? They are one of the teams worldwide that are probably best positioned outside of France or Spain to access French and Spanish talent development. And right A lot of these guys from Morocco, 10 of the 11 guys on the pitch today that started from Morocco were not born in Morocco. Now he's the only player who's born in Morocco.
00:37:13
Speaker
Bono's born in Canada. The other nine guys are all born in Europe, and they're all, for the most part, coming up through French and Spanish development. And so if you can't be France or Spain...
00:37:25
Speaker
Let's have France or Spain develop all of our players and then we'll bring them into a really good youth system and we'll build them into a good team and we'll get guys that want to be here and we can start knocking that door of the top tier teams.
00:37:37
Speaker
This is how you do it. Look, the World Cup After Dark podcast, we don't like ah offer judgment on development, but we can sit here and say that like if you feel like you can't really beat it. Right. It's not a mistake that in the 2020s, this team is one of the big, big risers. um And I think it profiles really well for them going forward. And that's why we say, you know, we talked about on the United States podcast, you just want to be like Morocco. And the answer is just have access to the two best development factories. So um look, they're in a good spot. We have a lot of nice things to say. They've been really impressive, two World Cups in a row.
00:38:13
Speaker
And France are France. Yeah, and also, like, okay, yeah, the best team in the world is is probably going be better than you. There's a lot of paths at this World Cup or in future World Cups where, like, you're not crossing with the best team in the world until the final, or maybe somebody else beats the best team in the world, and they were, i want to say somewhat unlucky by the draw, but also... to To be fair, they didn't win their group, right? You win your group and you go to the other side of the bracket and you're in the spot where Brazil is and you're not worrying about France until the final. And like that's just comes back to the margins, right? It comes back to the World Cup after dark textbook and like margins and draws and all these things matter. And so I think, yeah, that plays role here. They could have beaten Brazil. Honestly, you look back at it now, maybe they maybe they shouldn't have. And it's a long way to give that hindsight take, but I don't think that's incorrect.
00:38:56
Speaker
Right. And so you do that and then you're not here and you're not playing this team until a later state of the World Cup. And and maybe things are a bit different. But even so, like, i don't think there's any disgrace in going out like they did today against this France team. So they also took pens to to beat Netherlands. Right. But that's all part of the game. And so, like, again, to your point, the margins work in both ways. Look, it's a it's a team that's made two good runs and we we expect them to do it again. And we expect those two good runs to now turn into a third good run in four years time. Right. And i don't think there's any reason to to expect anything different than that.
00:39:29
Speaker
right that's it from Amit and I today. You can find us Spotify, Apple Podcasts, subscribe, comment, rate, review, all that good stuff. and If you want to support us directly, you can do so at patreon.com slash WCAD.
00:39:42
Speaker
$3 a month, subscriber only content. We will be back tomorrow with our Belgium-Spain recap. Then there's a double header on Saturday that we will be recapping as well. If you are looking for our previews of those games,
00:39:54
Speaker
be sure to check out our quarterfinal preview podcast, which hit the airwaves podcast world of whatever on Tuesday evening, or maybe it was Wednesday. i don't know. It's out there. You can find it. That's where you can find our preview stuff for that.
00:40:07
Speaker
Enjoy the game tomorrow, and we will chat to you guys then.