FIFA World Cup 2022: Celebrations galore in France as Les Blues down Morocco to enter Final

France – who are the defending champions – won the second semi-final by 2-0 and ended Morocco’s dream run in the showpiece event. With their win, the French set up a historic match with Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

Goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani sent Les Bleus through to a second consecutive World Cup final and they will now look to become the second team after Brazil to defend the title in the tournament’s history.

Joyous Crowds throng roads in France

Crowds in the capital city Paris and other French cities erupted in shouts of joy while disappointed Moroccan fans mingled with the exuberant supporters of the winning side. Morocco’s football team was Africa’s first-ever semifinalist.

Riots police on alert in France

According to the Associated Press report, football fans streamed to the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, shooting off firecrackers and red flares, to an unending chorus of honking cars. Riot police vans lined the broad thoroughfare and the base of the imposing Arc de Triomphe, and white-helmeted officers roamed the crowd.

Fans chant ‘we are in the final’

Several enthusiastic French football team fans were seen brandishing their national flags and singing “we are in the final.”

Supporters from both teams gathered in bars from the boulevards of Paris to the streets of Morocco’s capital Rabat, from the cosmopolitan French Riviera city of Nice to the historic Moroccan city of Marrakech.

Political-Emotional Resonance in the game

In central Madrid, fans celebrated on Sol Square after the match, some with red Moroccan flags draped on their shoulders, jumping up and down, and some wearing the French tricolour.

Morocco was under French rule from 1912-56, giving the match political and emotional resonance for both nations. In Morocco, people were able to watch the match on large screens placed in public squares in cities, highlighting the history-making moment this game represents.

Paris authorities had deployed 2,000 police officers, which were 800 more than on Saturday night for the quarterfinals when France defeated old rivals England 2-1.

Morocco stun favourites to enter semis

Morocco put up a sensational effort in the tournament and exceeded all expectations in Qatar by beating second-ranked Belgium in the group stage and then eliminating European powerhouses Spain and Portugal in the knockout phase to reach the semifinals.

The team’s success marks the first time an Arab country – and an African country too – has made it to the World Cup semifinals.

For many in the former protectorate, the match was an opportunity to show that Morocco is a formidable foe – on the soccer pitch at least – even though immigration between the two countries has blurred the lines for many in France and in Morocco about whom to support on Wednesday.

Many dual nationals living in France were torn Wednesday between supporting one or the other team – while some have chosen to back both. The Moroccan-French junior minister for youth, Sarah El Haïry, 33, grew up in Morocco before coming to France for her university studies.

“I’m proud of that Moroccan team which has created momentum, which is a cohesive team, which has made exceptional achievements. And at the same time, I want … Les Bleus (the French team, “the Blues”) to bring the World Cup back home,” she told Le Parisien newspaper.

(With AP inputs)