France vs Morocco: How to watch live, stream link, team news

Reigning World Cup champs France square off with surprise package Morocco in a mouthwatering World Cup semifinal.

Everybody expects France to advance but this World Cup has provided so many upsets, most of them involving Morocco.

STREAM LIVE FRANCE v MOROCCO

Didier Deschamps’ side squeaked past England in the quarterfinals, as Les Bleus have looked shaky defensively but have so much quality in attack. Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann are all stepping up at different moments and the French are gathering momentum. Their quest to become just the third team in history to win back-to-back World Cups is well and truly on track.

As for Morocco, well, what can we say that hasn’t already been said about the amazing run the Atlas Lions have made to the semifinals? They have made history as the first-ever African side to reach the final four and they’ve beaten Spain and Portugal in the knockout rounds, showcasing incredible grit, energy and quality as they are the total team unit. Just a few months into the job, what a job manager Walid Regragui has done. The fact that Regragui was born in France and several of his players play in France adds extra spice to this intriguing clash.

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Here is everything you need for France vs Morocco.

How to watch France vs Morocco live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 2pm ET – Wednesday, December 14 Stadium: Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor TV channels en Español: Telemundo Streaming en Español: Peacock (all 64 matches)

Key storylines, players to watch closely

Kylian Mbappe, the leading goalscorer at the World Cup, was kept quiet by England but Griezmann pulled the strings in his new No. 10 role and Giroud popped up with the winning goal as the French keep finding a way to win. When you think about Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and Christopher Nkunku all being out of this tournament due to injury, the strength of their squad is sensational. Quietly Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot have been superb in midfield too. The only issue is that France has yet to keep a clean sheet and they do look vulnerable on the counter.

Story continues

As for Morocco, their goalkeeper Yassine Bounou has been exceptional, so too has captain Romain Saiss (who is nursing a hamstring injury) while Achraf Hakimi, Sofiane Boufal and Hakim Ziyech give them real quality in wide areas. The star of the show has been Sofyan Amrabat in central midfield, while Azzedine Ounahi has been a revelation alongside him. In truth, the entire Moroccan side has excelled and they’ve kept four clean sheets in five games so far at the World Cup. They are well-organized defensively but break with purpose and skill when they get the chance to attack. They are so dangerous, especially with their huge support which has made all of their World Cup games seem like home games.

France quick facts

Current FIFA world ranking: 4World Cup titles: 2 (1998, 2018)World Cup appearances: 15How they qualified: Qualified automatically from UEFA (Won Group D)Coach: Didier DeschampsKey players: Kylian Mbappe, Hugo Lloris, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Raphael VaraneAt the 2022 World Cup – Beat England 2-1 in the quarterfinals

Morocco quick facts

Current FIFA world ranking: 22World Cup titles: 0World Cup appearances: 6Best-ever World Cup finish: This tournamentHow they qualified: Qualified automatically from CAFCoach: Vahid HalilhodzicKey players: Achraf Hakimi, Yassine Bounou, Youssef En-Nesyri, Romain Saiss, Hakim ZiyechAt the 2022 World Cup – Beat Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinals

France vs Morocco: How to watch live, stream link, team news originally appeared on NBCSports.com