Morocco and France have thwarted the odds and clash, this Wednesday, December 14 at 8 p.m., at Al Bayt stadium in Al Khor. Like the national team, the Blues – for different reasons – were not guaranteed to reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
If the Atlas Lions are novices at this stage of the competition, which explains their status as outsiders, the French also launched their world with heavy handicaps. In question, the multiple packages before (Kante, Pogba) or during the competition (Benzema, Nkunku, Luca Hernandez).
However, there is a common denominator between the coronation of 2018 in Russia and the course of the band in Deschamps in Qatar: this ability to rely on individualities to make the collective shine. France did not dazzle their supporters with a game of great beauty, but she knew how to feed her cracks and put them in the best possible conditions.
Wings are the epicenter of dangerous situations created by the French. Aiming for this area responds to the desire to highlight first Kylian Mbappe, who plays a game in the game once morest his club teammate, Achrafi Hakimi. Then Ousmane Dembele. The aim is to quickly bring the danger into the penalty area. That said, the Blues sometimes tend to forget themselves defensively, with a feverish left flank.
Centers galore
It is not what France have demonstrated the majority of the time in possession (57%) of the ball that will arouse admiration. However, the Blues have the best attack among the teams still in contention, finding 11 times the net, almost as much as his xG score (10,35).
This denotes a certain ability not to miss the opportunities that come their way. These goals were mainly scored from the penalty area (10) where France touches 22 balls per game.
Without surprise, four achievements were listed from the top in conclusion of crosses coming from both the right side and the left side. That said, left-back Lucas Hernandez, more offensive than its right counterpart, Jules Koundé (professional center), shows a good quality of center (67% successful crosses, competition record).
But to reach these outlying areas, France proceeds in order of priority. First, short passes to find A. Rabiot or A. Griezmann inside the game, between the lines, before the latter direct the ball towards the wings.
If the axial pass lines are obstructed, the French use long balloons with the support in the air of Olivier Giroud. Game reversals are the third offensive variant of the Blues to find Dembélé and especially Mbappé. Because it is he who defines the threat.
Antoine Griezmann also poses a significant threat. Best decisive passer (3), his altruism (34 centres) and his efficient forward-facing playing, without frills or waste, show a real desire to create imbalance. His repositioning as a right midfielder does not seem to affect his performance, and even less his reading of the game and his technical quality.
Mbappé-Hakimi, the match within the match
At PSG, they are more than teammates. They are friends. But this Wednesday, December 14 at 8 p.m., Achraf Hakimi and Kylian Mbappé will face each other, with the ball at their feet. How to try to surprise an opponent who knows you by heart and how to contain it?
This will undoubtedly be the theme of the evening, along with speed and explosiveness. Mbappé was flashed at 35 km/h by FIFA and Hakimi at 34 km/h. In the past, the two players have faced each other several times in the Champions League, especially when Hakimi played in Germany (Borussia Dortmund).
Everytime, the Moroccan has taken over the Bondynois, even if they did not always operate in the same area. The right side will have Kylian Mbappé as a direct opponent this time. He will have to respond to the accelerations of one of the best players in the world, but also to his dribbling.
Mbappé tries 12 dribbles par match, a record in this world, but the success flees it (55%) often, because it is less comfortable when he tries his hook inside the game outside the penalty area. In sixteen meters fifty, it is simply unplayable.
In addition to its ability to become unstoppable when he has a little space in front of him, by his stalls and his mobility, the most decisive player during the competition (5 goals and 2 assists) is also difficult to mark, which offers him the possibility of being fair in the opposing camp (92% successful passes), where Giroud’s calls are sharp.
The tricolor center forward has been in great shape since the start of the competition. He broke Thierry Henry’s goalscoring record for the national team (53 goals) by his presence in the penalty area and his formidable heading game (2 goals).
His mover’s physique allows him to withstand the charge of defenders, and its technical quality provides a point of support valuable to his teammates. He can both ask for the ball in the feet but also in depth, although speed is not its primary asset.
One left side uncovered
Arranged in 4-4-2 diamond in the defensive phase, the band at Deschamps does not practice off-road pressing. The lack of intensity put into the loss of the ball translates into a relative ease for the opponent to keep it. France allows up to 17 opposing passes by defensive action in the opposing camp (PPDA).
Morocco will therefore have the possibility of build your attacks without haste faced with a team structure that relieves Mbappé of defensive duties, but which exposes his left side. On the 5 goals conceded by France, which place it in the middle of the table of the least efficient teams in this sector of play (17/32), failures on the left defensive flank were often the cause.
Dayot Upamecano and Theo Hernandez often find themselves two once morest three, and have great difficulty in their defensive positioning when they have to chasing an opponent or managing depth. In other words, Morocco must concentrate its attacks on this flank because, sooner or later in the match, the two French defenders will be wrong, as on retreating centers where midfield coverage is less than ideal.
In addition to the difficulties displayed by the French on set pieces, the last element that will have to be taken into consideration to destabilize the defensive block of the Blues is their sometimes failing withdrawal, which the English took advantage of on several occasions.
Finally, their indiscipline played bad tricks on them. once morest England, the Blues committed 14 fouls, including two penalties conceded and a third forgotten by the referee, to which is added the one scored by Poland in the round of 16.
