The France-Morocco showdown is certainly delivering.
The second semifinal of the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been a thriller through 45 minutes, with Les Bleus leading 1-0.
French left back Theo Hernandez had opened the scoring in just the fifth minute off a defensive error from Morocco, making it the first opposition goal the Atlas Lions conceded all tournament.
Let's dig into three takeaways from the first half of the semifinal:
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Morocco concedes first
It was a talking point throughout the build up to this game: Can Morocco shut out France?
The Atlas Lions' lone conceded goal was off their own player in a 2-1 win over Canada in their Group F finale. But that changed early on against France with their 5-4-1 low block getting sliced open by a run from Antoine Griezmann.
Once the Moroccan center back slipped, Griezmann opened up the defense by a playing ball back to Kylian Mbappe, who saw several defenders close down on him to block his shot. That backfired, though, when Hernandez found himself wide open behind the defense to attempt a half-scissor kick past Yassine Bounou.
Morocco hadn't trailed all tournament and are the lowest goal-scoring side left, so this was new territory as it had to change game plans within minutes.
Morocco sustains pressure on French backline
All tournament, France have been a team willing to concede possession in the central areas of the pitch knowing its attack works best in transition. When you have Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele running down each flank, you need them to have space to optimize their pace.
So when France scored first, it looked comfortable sitting a tad deeper as Morocco would need to be more aggressive despite starting the game with a five-man backline. The Atlas Lions were wonderful with possession and getting past a two-man French center midfield, with crucial chances being created.
Azzedine Ounahi had a curler saved by Hugo Lloris, Jawad El Yamiq nearly scored a bicycle kick and Achraf Hakimi caused real danger down the right-hand flank, though they remained goalless.
Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud wasteful with chances
Morocco should be thinking they are extremely fortunate not to be down 2-0.
Since the Atlas Lions started pushing higher up the field, Mbappe has had acres of room to burst into to cause havoc. Along with him, Olivier Giroud had two chances to potentially get Les Bleus up two.
Giroud struck the post in the 17th minute for France's next best goal-scoring opportunity early on.
Then Mbappe and Giroud each missed back-to-back shots in the 36th minute, with the former opting to shoot despite the latter being open for a potential tap-in finish.
France haven't kept a clean sheet all tournament and look susceptible to conceding against a hungry Moroccan side. If Les Bleus can get at least one more goal before Morocco, they can kill the game and try to get the third as the game advances like Argentina did against Croatia on Tuesday.
