Morocco seeks to make history by becoming the first African Nation to make a World Cup Final.

On Wednesday the 14th of December, France will play in a World Cup semi-final. But not against Germany, not against Spain, certainly not against England. Not against any conventional, World Cup royalty. No, they will be playing Morocco.

Nobody expected to be saying that in back in November, but it’s true. This valiant Morocco side led by Walid Regragui have already made history by becoming the first African side in history to reach a World Cup semi-final, and their story this World Cup has been one of defied expectations. They bested Belgium in the group stages, sent Spain home on penalties in the Round of 16, and crushed Cristiano’s dreams of securing the one trophy that has eluded him his whole, glory ridden career.

The World Cup is usually dominated by South American or European giants in the latter stages. Sure, sometimes you get situations like Ghana in 2010, who made it to the quarter-finals and were thwarted by Luis Suarez and his pseudo-goalkeeping antics.

But never has an African Nation been faced with such a fierce run to the final and kept on going. Morocco have standouts like Amrabat, Ziyech, Hakimi and others to thank for this run, as they have definitely shown the passion, desire and quality you need to get by in a World Cup.

Regragui told journalists, “We will show great desire and try to pull off an upset. Why not reach the final of the World Cup? We can dream, it doesn’t cost you anything to have dreams,”

France, however, will still enter this game with bags of confidence. They have still proven to be an ever-present force this World Cup, and even their harshest critics wouldn’t doubt the individual quality that this squad still possesses. Big games call for big players in the big moments, and stars like Mbappe, Giroud, Lloris and others should revel in these conditions. Antoine Griezmann is looking to continue his re-evolution this tournament in the midfield, with many putting him in early contention for player of the tournament after delivering yet another brilliant performance against England, assisting both goals and being an ever-present thorn in the side of the Three Lions.

Many thought that following Benzema’s late withdrawal from the squad, France would be lacking some firepower. However, France’s new all-time top scorer has something to say about that. Olivier Giroud time and time again is proving to be the striker that has aged like a fine French wine, as 4 years on from Russia he has still proven to be a main cog in Didier Deschamps’ system.

France go into this game as the favourites, there’s no doubt about it. However, they would be silly to write off Morocco. It’s a David and Goliath fixture, but the ending is yet to be written…