France ends Morocco's fairy tale streak to prepare for World Cup final against Argentina.

Theo Hernández gave France an early lead before substitute Randal Kolo Muani sealed a 2-0 win against an excellent Morocco side at the Al Bayt Stadium to send Les Blues to the World Cup final.

France remained on course to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the world title and will now face Lionel Messi and Argentina in the final.

Morocco has been the surprise package of Qatar 2022, and Walid Regragui's side responded magnificently after Hernández's opening goal in the fifth minute, pinning the world champions for significant periods in a display of appreciable courage and skill.

But Eintracht Frankfurt striker Kolo Muani proved France's unexpected hero, scoring with his first touch after Kylian Mbappe had a shot blocked 11 minutes from time.

Final result France vs Morocco

 1H 2H Finals

France 1 1 2

Morocco 0 0 0

Goals:

FRA - Theo Hernandez (5 minutes)

FRA - Randal Kolo Muani (79 minutes)

In the process of becoming the first African team in history to reach the World Cup semi-finals, Morocco had only conceded once in the tournament heading into this match, and even that was an own goal.

Romain Saiss, Nayef Agard, and Noussair Mazraoui were outfitted to start, but West Ham's Agard withdrew after the warm-up, and captain Saiss was substituted midway through the first half when he was clearly in trouble.

That uncertainty seemed to contribute to a chaotic opening game for France, where Antoine Griezmann took advantage of a slip by Jawad El Yamiq and fed the ball back to Mbappé. The Paris Saint-Germain star had his first effort blocked and a second bested by Oliver Giroud, with Hernández eyeing the chances as he found an acrobatic finish.

Giroud hit the post as Saiss's thigh gave way, but Hugo Lloris had already produced a full-length save from Azzedine Ounahi by then, and El Yamiq nearly atoned for his mistake with a bicycle kick that hit the base of the post.

Mbappé tried to get France back in front after the restart. Still, another winger, Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech, was the prominent attacker in half, orchestrating several intricate attacks down the right flank.

Ibrahima Konate, who only played after Dayot Upemacano was ruled out with illness, cleared at the last moment, and France only caught a breather when Mbappe's quick feet gave way to a half-discovered shot that fell amiably to Kolo Muani, who had only been on the field for 44 seconds.

The memories of the incredible race in Morocco will last much longer.

France vs Morocco, as it happened,

Fulltime: France has done it. Didier Deschamps can become the first coach in history to win the World Cup twice. The Moroccan players fall to the grass. Some of them are in tears, but many have changed their lives in the last few weeks, not to mention giving their fans incredible memories to last a lifetime.

Minute 90+4: My God, how did that not come in??? Abde Ezzalzouli causes chaos on the French right. The ball breaks over Azzedine Ounahi, and her shot slips through the crowd to be blocked on the line by Jules Kunde.

Minute 90+3: Morocco continues plugging. The excellent Azzedine Ounahi has a shot wide.

90+ 2 minutes: Kylian Mbappe looks to apply a small garnish to victory, hitting Sofyan Amrabat and charging into the Morocco box before Achraf Hakimi makes the tackle.

90th minute: Zakaria Aboukhlal finds space to finish off Hugo Lloris with his left foot. Inside will be 6 minutes of added time.

Minute 85: Morocco continues to press and ask questions. They have been excellent tonight. But his career is almost over.

Minute 79: GOOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!! Randal Kolo Muani!!!

It is an excellent time to score your first international goal. Kylian Mbappe creates space to shoot with quick feet. His effort is half-blocked, but it is up to Kolo Muani to touch the far post. France returns to the final.

Minute 78: Abderrazak Hamdallah is a random factor. He is in France at the moment. He makes some steps but sends his cross into the side netting from a good position. Abde Ezzalzouli replaces Selim Amallah for Morocco, while Randal Kolo Muani enters for the fourth time with France.

76th minute: Incredible run from Moroccan substitute Abderrazak Hamdallah, but why doesn't he shoot? France can finally escape after Raphael Varane steps in.

74th minute: Sofyan Amrabat loses ownership to Youssouf Fofana. The France midfielder exchanges pass with Marcus Thuram and strike wide. A pass to Kylian Mbappe is in.

72nd minute: Oohhh, another excellent set piece from Antoine Griezmann, and Marcus Thuram should score. You can't make clean contact.

70th minute: France tend to play in bursts, and now we could be in the middle of one. Ousmane Dembele cuts in from the right, and Noussair Mazraoui makes a vital tackle.

69th minute: Assistant defender Antoine Griezmann takes a free-kick from the left after a foul by Achraf Hakim on Marcus Thuram. France keeps the attack alive, and Kylian Mbappé's shot is blocked.

Minute 67: Early opportunity by Aboukal, who touches a ball to the small area, but Hugo Lloris catches it.

66th minute: A couple of surprising substitutions: Marcus Thuram has come on for Olivier Giroud, with Didier Deschamps perhaps thinking Morocco will leave more and more space at halftime. In contrast, Sofiane Boufal comes off impressively, and Zakaria Aboukal comes on.

Minute 63: Morocco is concentrated on the left flank of France. Sofiane Boufal gets in on the fun with Hakim Ziyech this time, only for Antoine Griezmann to return for a solid defence. He is invaluable to Didier Deschamps.

57th minute: Antoine Griezmann is now clearing again after Hakim Ziyech orchestrates another great attack from Morocco on the left of France. Meanwhile, Mbappé needs ankle treatment after a challenge by Achraf Dari. he needs to change his boot, which could give his teammates time to clear their heads.

Minute 54: Another almost chance for En-Nesyri. Last a minute defence from Ibrahima Konate. Morocco fans are making a lot of noise, even by their standards.

53rd minute: Morocco is back all over the place after that early flurry from France. Sofiane Boufal puts a dangerous cross into the box that Youssef En-Nesyri can't finish off.

Minute 51: Another attack from Morocco but Mbappé charges at halftime. He's in midair on the left, but Sofyan Amrabat flies into an incredible tackle. He was a bit offside, so he pushed the boundaries of what's allowed today. But that's a sensational piece of the defence. The Morocco fans went crazy.

Minute 50: Hakim Ziyech picks up Theo Hernandez and overtakes him to cross. Ibrahima Konate clears his low throw.

49th minute: France wants to get this over with after their uncertain end to the first half. Antoine Griezmann looks for Kylian Mbappé with a through ball, but Yassine Bounou arrives first and takes a shot for his inconvenience.

47th minute: Mbappé is certainly trying well! He leaves Achraf Hakimi for the dust on the left, but his slice is missed.

Minute 46: We're back on track. Can France make another fast start like they did from the opening whistle?

Halftime: You feared Morocco could collapse after Theo Hernandez gave France an early lead when their captain Romain Saiss limped out of action after Olivier Giroud hit the post. But the Atlas Lions finished the half on top, with Jawad El Yamiq's bicycle kick hitting the post. This one is far from over. The next goal is huge.

45th minute + 3: France awaits the halftime whistle when Lloris hits another dangerous delivery from Hakim Ziyech from his six-yard box.

Minute 44: Morocco hit the post! Jawad El Yamiq, partly to blame for the opening goal, struck a dazzling shot from above after France failed to deal with Hakim Ziyech's corner fully. A combination of Hugo Lloris's fingertips and the bottom of the stud kept Les Bleus' lead.

Minute 43: Beautiful play by Morocco speeds up time, and Azzedine Ounahi slides a ball down the right channel for Achraf Hakimi. He wins the corner later an 

the magnificent challenge from Ibrahima Konate.

39th minute: Antoine Griezmann fires his brilliant feet down the right, and Jawad El Yamiq slides in to concede the corner. No one picked up Raphael Varane's near-post run, but the Manchester United defender's try isn't threatening.

Minute 36: Woooahhh, almost 2-0. Hakim Ziyech loses possession, and France is a lightning bolt in transition. Kylian Mbappe looks set to double the lead, but his effort misses the target. The attack stays alive, and Giroud should have his fifth of the competition while shooting wide.

35th minute: Antoine Griezmann's corner from the right is only half-cleared before Youssouf Fofana takes an ambitious shot on the turn and sends it wide.

Minute 34: It is not the first time tonight Giroud has a teammate who shoots at him. Mbappé is cutting from the left this time. Theo Hernandez remains in the wars after Achraf Dari left him a little one.

Minute 32: Beautiful play by the Moroccan midfield. As usual, he starts with Sofyan Amrabat and substitutes Selim Amallah leads the attack, almost finding the through ball to Youssef En-Nesyri. Overall, it's been an excellent response to the Atlas Lions' defence.

Minute 27: Theo Hernández looks somewhat sore here. The goalscorer put his foot in to deflect a Morocco attack, but that put his knee at an awkward angle, and there was also a run-in with Sofiane Boufal, who was shown a yellow card.

Minute 21: Sad ending for Romain Saiss, who limps off. Morocco's bet on their captain and Nayef Agard has yet to pay off. Enter Selim Amallah, which should mean moving to a more familiar 4-3-3 for Regragui's side.

Minute 18: Olivier Giroud hits the post! France's record goalscorer moves away from Romain Saiss, who moves in a complicated way, and strikes into the left-back with his left foot.

Minute 17: That is more typical of Morocco. Sofiane Boufal drives through midfield and plays for Hakim Ziyech. Unfortunately for the Chelsea winger, he lost his balance before taking the shot and went flying.

15th minute: Hakim Ziyech fires an excellent free-kick into the France box from deep, but the head is clear, and the world champions again have a smooth, testing period of possession.

13th minute: Morocco needs to settle down a bit here. Sofyan Amrabat simply carelessly gave the ball away inside her half. As was the case early on against England, France is judiciously pressing and setting traps. 1-0 is a lousy situation for the Atlas Lions, but 2-0 would feel almost unrecoverable right now.

9th minute: Almost a spectacular response from Morocco, as Azzedine Ounahi, curls a right-footed effort into the bottom corner from 25 yards. Hugo Lloris crosses and goes down, and that's a good save with his left hand.

Minute 5: GOOOAAALLLLLL!!!!! Teo Hernandez!!!!

It looked like a last-minute defence from Morocco had done the job after Kylian Mbappe's shot at the end of Antoine Griezmann's cutback was blocked. Mbappé's second attempt hit Olivier Giroud, but Hernández kept an eye on chances with an acrobatic shot off the far post.

4th minute: Aurelien Tchouameni tries to dribble, but Sofyan Amrabat, always alert, stops the Moroccan midfield.

Minute 1: The game is on. In a late switch to Morocco 11, Achraf Dari is playing in place of Nayef Agard, who must not have returned to as fit as he thought.