[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The World Cup final showdown between the new and old football emperors, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, has been set. Both players, who are teammates at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the top team in France's Ligue 1, will compete for the championship trophy representing their countries in the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup final on the 19th (Korean time).
France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the semifinal match held at Qatar's Al Bayt Stadium on the 15th (Korean time). With this victory, France will challenge for their second consecutive title following the 2018 Russia World Cup.
Earlier, Argentina secured their place in the final by defeating Croatia 3-0 in the semifinals.
France took the lead just 5 minutes into the match with a goal from Theo Hernandez. In the 36th minute of the second half, Randal Kolo Muani scored the clinching goal.
Morocco, the first African nation to reach the World Cup semifinals, showed competitive performance that matched the strong favorite France, but France's solid defense secured a clean sheet victory.
Although they lost the match, Morocco's well-organized attacks based on detailed teamwork were impressive. However, they missed several shooting opportunities by aiming for overly perfect chances.
From Morocco's perspective, the particularly regrettable moment was Jawad Yamiq's picture-perfect overhead kick shot from a corner kick in the 44th minute of the first half, which was saved by opposing goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
If France defeats Argentina in the final, they will achieve their third World Cup victory overall, following the 1998 France tournament and the 2018 Russia tournament. They will also become the third country in history to win back-to-back World Cups, after Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962.
The scoring race between Messi and Mbappe is also drawing attention. Both players have scored 5 goals in this tournament, sharing the top spot in the scoring category.
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