World Cups are rarely wire-to-wire coronations. In fact, the competition is so fierce, and the margins so small, that usually there isn't a single clear "best" team that goes ahead and wins it all. In 2010, you could argue that Germany looked stronger than eventual champions Spain up until the Spaniards pulled off a narrow 1-0 win against them in the semifinal. The Dutch were probably the strongest team overall in 2014, even though they fell to Argentina in the semis. As the legendary final itself demonstrated, there wasn't terribly much separating France from Argentina in 2022 either. Really, of the most recent four tournaments, only France in 2018 looked like the best team throughout the competition and then confirmed that sense by winning. It's no surprise, then, that the French appear to be on the verge of pulling off that same feat again, coming off a 2-0 domination of Morocco in Thursday's quarterfinal that once again had Les Bleus seeming unstoppable.
This has been, more than anything, a World Cup of stars. Lionel Messi has been astonishing for Argentina, Erling Haaland has Norway one game from the semis on the sheer power of his goalscoring, and Harry Kane stands in Norway's path as England's best player (and, if it's not him, it's Jude Bellingham, another star playing up to his maximum level). France's strength is that it is the only team that can boast a roster full of stars, one in which no one player is needed to win. Of course, France does have a leading star in Kylian Mbappé, but it also has Michael Olise, and Ousmane Dembélé, and Désiré Doué, and William Saliba, and Dayot Upamecano, and Bradley Barcola off the bench. Not all of those players are, by definition, stars, but they are all so talented that it's impossible to focus on one player in order to shut down France.
It's doubly impossible because it seems like no one can stop Mbappé. Morocco certainly could not, save for one rare failure from the Real Madrid forward early on Thursday. After drawing a penalty thanks to a powerful dribble in the box, Mbappé had a chance to put France in the lead in the first half, something that it hasn't done as much as one might expect in this tournament so far. Maybe thanks to the overlong VAR review, or perhaps because of his stuttering run-up, but Mbappé didn't convert, his weak penalty saved by Moroccan goalie (and certified stud on Thursday, even with the final scoreline) Yassine "Bono" Bounou.
Despite having much of the action going its way in the first half, Mbappé's penalty hung over the break. Could Morocco do to France what it did to both Spain and Portugal last World Cup, slowing down a more talented side and nicking a victory? It took only one six-minute span, and the involvement of three of its vaunted starting front four, for France to nip those hopes in the bud. On the hour mark, Mbappé struck first. Doué did a nifty control on a loose ball then poked it to Mbappé, who did the rest with a gorgeous back-post curler.
Six minutes later, Mbappé would be on the other end, setting up Dembélé on a counter-attack that the PSG star finished with a low bouncer. (Giving Mbappé an assist here is generous, but it counted on the scoresheet, so, sure, nice job, Kylian.)
Just like that, Bono's penalty save and his heroics in keeping the score knotted at zero apiece were left in the wake of France's demolition derby. If you wanted to be nice, you could say Morocco grew into the game as it went on, and the Moroccans did have a couple of nice chances, but that's damning with faint praise. The result of this match wasn't ever really in question, it was just on hold until France woke up as it has every other match this tournament, at least for long enough to put the ball in the net, via Mbappé as per usual. He did it against Senegal. He did it against Iraq. He did it against Sweden. He did it against Paraguay (and received some old-school racismo for his troubles). And he did it against Morocco. Mbappé is now tied with Messi on eight goals, though Mbappé is ahead for the Golden Boot due to having more assists. He's unbelievable.
At the moment of Dembélé's match-killer, France had a 17-2 shot advantage, and even with the French being deadliest in transition, they also won the possession battle 52-48. Things tilted in Morocco's favor as it searched for a comeback, but even in the final 24 minutes and stoppage time, France still outshot the Atlas Lions 5-3, and substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta should have probably scored the third. This was as one-way as traffic gets, and there's little to hint at that changing as France goes into its third straight semifinal (only Germany, twice, and Brazil have accomplished that before).
There are harder tests ahead in the two matches standing between France and the country's third World Cup title. Spain will be much more comfortable denying France oxygen via its possession obsession, and the Spaniards have the best defense in the tournament by a wide margin. (If Belgium beats Spain, well, I don't have quite as much faith there.) If France gets to the final, they will (most likely) meet either England or Argentina. The former has had ups and downs, especially in defense, but the English are probably the only squad out there that can match France's physicality. And with Kane and Bellingham, nothing is impossible. The latter has Messi, and Messi is still Messi. But this isn't 2022. France is fully healthy—Mbappé was subbed off after taking a knock on his ankle, but it didn't look serious—and Argentina hasn't clicked the way it did four years ago. It's looking more and more like the team with the deadliest World Cup scorer in history, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, one of the best playmakers in the world, a stout defense, and the experience of winning it all will be the one to do it again. Quelle surprise.
