Frugal Morocco have a date with destiny as they face off with high-flying World Champions France

So Morocco are in the semi-finals of the World Cup, and there is no question that they are there on merit. They have been the most consistent team at this tournament, topping their group by two points with two wins out of three before beating Spain and Portugal in the knockout stages.

Going back to those first three games, a goalless draw against Croatia looks, with the benefit of hindsight, like a fair result at the end of a game between two fairly evenly-matched teams. Their win against Belgium was largely viewed through the prism of their opponents’ very public implosion, while beating Canada felt like a routine win.

And the knockout stages have been something else altogether, a penalty shootout win against Spain, at the end of a game during which they absolutely gave as good as they got, and a well-deserved 1-0 win against Portugal against a team who’d rattled in six goals in their previous match. The only goal they’ve conceded was an own goal against Canada. They have looked like formidable opponents from the off.

But this isn’t just about Morocco. This is about Africa. In becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final, the eyes of an entire continent will be on them. An African quarter-final win came at the fourth attempt. Cameroon became the first African nation to get that far in 1990, losing narrowly to England after extra-time. In 2002, Senegal lost to Turkey after extra-time. In 2010, Ghana lost to Uruguay on penalties after that handball by Luis Suarez in the last minute of extra-time.

And it isn’t just about Africa, either. The Arab world extends beyond the actual Arabian Peninsula and Morocco is part of that world. Local support for this team has made every match they’ve played so far feel like a home match. But while there may be questions to ask about the levels of pressure that can land on players’ shoulders at this point of a World Cup – they haven’t exhibited any yet, but they only need ask Asamoah Gyan about how quickly they can descend – perhaps the sanitised atmosphere of Qatar will be to their benefit in dampening it down a little, at least outside the stadium itself.

It’d probably be for the best for the team that they don’t think about the possibility that the entire world will be rooting for them.

This is only the sixth time that Morocco have qualified for the World Cup finals, and on only one previous occasion have they got through the group stages. That came in 1986, when they topped a group also containing England, Portugal and Poland before losing to a Lothar Matthaus goal scored two minutes from time in the second round against West Germany. So records have already been broken this winter. But this is a whole other order.

They certainly couldn’t be facing a much bigger challenge if they want to go a step further in this World Cup. The last quarter of a century of international football has belonged to France. Over that time period, they have appeared in 50 per cent of the finals of the World Cup and the European Championships.

France are chasing an immortality of their own. It’s been six full decades since Brazil won the World Cup in Chile, becoming the last team to lift the trophy twice in a row. Indeed, with the trophy used in 1966 retired after Brazil’s 1970 win, no-one has lifted the current World Cup trophy twice in a row.

Star man Kylian Mbappe was relatively subdued against England in the quarter-final, but while Morocco might take heart from the fact that they didn’t play particularly well in that match, it’s equally fair to ask what is most likely to happen if they improve upon that performance. And they have threats all over the pitch.

Antoine Griezmann has looked transformed throughout this tournament, while Olivier Giroud, a player who has never been the recipient of all the praise he deserves, often seems to be at his best when operating somewhat in the shadows.

Is it possible that France could have another off-day or turn up already believing themselves to be in the final? Would either of these even need to happen for Morocco to have a good chance of beating them? After all, Morocco have the stingiest defence in the tournament and have already reduced Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal to firing blanks while, after five games, France still haven’t yet kept a clean sheet at this World Cup.

If Morocco’s broad tactical sweep for this tournament is to keep it tight at the back and hit them on the break, then it’s probably best to be in that position for a semi-final for a match against a team who have already proved themselves capable of conceding a goal or two.

Morocco have thrived at this tournament without the ball. Somewhat surprisingly, at 31.6 per cent they’ve had the second lowest average amount of possession of any team, with only Costa Rica having managed less. But no-one wins anything from possession statistics alone. It’s what you do with that possession that counts, and Morocco have certainly made good use of the ball when they’ve had it.

Head coach Walid Regragui has worked little short of a miracle in maximising the resources at his disposal, all the more so because he’s only been in the job since the last day of August. He’s certainly defied the doubters in Moroccan punditry circles, where he earned the derisory nickname of ‘Mr Avocado Head’ when appointed into the position.

So, they have a plan which has been working to a tee, they have a remarkable amount of momentum behind them and can count on a crowd that will make their semi-final feel like a home game. France are an excellent team and there are plenty of ways in which this could go their way. The scale of the occasion could hit suddenly and could hit hard.

But having already got further than any Moroccan team in the World Cup before and then further than African team in the history of the tournament, they have the wind in their sails. The World Cup holders will have their work cut out to prevent this particular bandwagon rolling straight over them and into the final.

• A Football365 report

So Morocco are in the semi-finals of the World Cup, and there is no question that they are there on merit. They have been the most consistent team at this tournament, topping their group by two points with two wins out of three before beating Spain and Portugal in the knockout stages.

Going back to those first three games, a goalless draw against Croatia looks, with the benefit of hindsight, like a fair result at the end of a game between two fairly evenly-matched teams. Their win against Belgium was largely viewed through the prism of their opponents’ very public implosion, while beating Canada felt like a routine win.

And the knockout stages have been something else altogether, a penalty shootout win against Spain, at the end of a game during which they absolutely gave as good as they got, and a well-deserved 1-0 win against Portugal against a team who’d rattled in six goals in their previous match. The only goal they’ve conceded was an own goal against Canada. They have looked like formidable opponents from the off.

But this isn’t just about Morocco. This is about Africa. In becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final, the eyes of an entire continent will be on them. An African quarter-final win came at the fourth attempt. Cameroon became the first African nation to get that far in 1990, losing narrowly to England after extra-time. In 2002, Senegal lost to Turkey after extra-time. In 2010, Ghana lost to Uruguay on penalties after that handball by Luis Suarez in the last minute of extra-time.

And it isn’t just about Africa, either. The Arab world extends beyond the actual Arabian Peninsula and Morocco is part of that world. Local support for this team has made every match they’ve played so far feel like a home match. But while there may be questions to ask about the levels of pressure that can land on players’ shoulders at this point of a World Cup – they haven’t exhibited any yet, but they only need ask Asamoah Gyan about how quickly they can descend – perhaps the sanitised atmosphere of Qatar will be to their benefit in dampening it down a little, at least outside the stadium itself.

It’d probably be for the best for the team that they don’t think about the possibility that the entire world will be rooting for them.

This is only the sixth time that Morocco have qualified for the World Cup finals, and on only one previous occasion have they got through the group stages. That came in 1986, when they topped a group also containing England, Portugal and Poland before losing to a Lothar Matthaus goal scored two minutes from time in the second round against West Germany. So records have already been broken this winter. But this is a whole other order.

They certainly couldn’t be facing a much bigger challenge if they want to go a step further in this World Cup. The last quarter of a century of international football has belonged to France. Over that time period, they have appeared in 50 per cent of the finals of the World Cup and the European Championships.

France are chasing an immortality of their own. It’s been six full decades since Brazil won the World Cup in Chile, becoming the last team to lift the trophy twice in a row. Indeed, with the trophy used in 1966 retired after Brazil’s 1970 win, no-one has lifted the current World Cup trophy twice in a row.

Star man Kylian Mbappe was relatively subdued against England in the quarter-final, but while Morocco might take heart from the fact that they didn’t play particularly well in that match, it’s equally fair to ask what is most likely to happen if they improve upon that performance. And they have threats all over the pitch.

Antoine Griezmann has looked transformed throughout this tournament, while Olivier Giroud, a player who has never been the recipient of all the praise he deserves, often seems to be at his best when operating somewhat in the shadows.

Is it possible that France could have another off-day or turn up already believing themselves to be in the final? Would either of these even need to happen for Morocco to have a good chance of beating them? After all, Morocco have the stingiest defence in the tournament and have already reduced Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal to firing blanks while, after five games, France still haven’t yet kept a clean sheet at this World Cup.

If Morocco’s broad tactical sweep for this tournament is to keep it tight at the back and hit them on the break, then it’s probably best to be in that position for a semi-final for a match against a team who have already proved themselves capable of conceding a goal or two.

Morocco have thrived at this tournament without the ball. Somewhat surprisingly, at 31.6 per cent they’ve had the second lowest average amount of possession of any team, with only Costa Rica having managed less. But no-one wins anything from possession statistics alone. It’s what you do with that possession that counts, and Morocco have certainly made good use of the ball when they’ve had it.

Head coach Walid Regragui has worked little short of a miracle in maximising the resources at his disposal, all the more so because he’s only been in the job since the last day of August. He’s certainly defied the doubters in Moroccan punditry circles, where he earned the derisory nickname of ‘Mr Avocado Head’ when appointed into the position.

So, they have a plan which has been working to a tee, they have a remarkable amount of momentum behind them and can count on a crowd that will make their semi-final feel like a home game. France are an excellent team and there are plenty of ways in which this could go their way. The scale of the occasion could hit suddenly and could hit hard.

But having already got further than any Moroccan team in the World Cup before and then further than African team in the history of the tournament, they have the wind in their sails. The World Cup holders will have their work cut out to prevent this particular bandwagon rolling straight over them and into the final.

• A Football365 report