DOHA, Qatar — Even Didier Deschamps, France’s ordinarily gnomic coach, seemed a little indifferent in the wee hours of Sunday morning. His team had edged past England in a tense, taut game, the kind that made the insistence of the stadium’s hype man, immediately after the final whistle, that it had been “a lot of fun” for everyone seem more than a touch discordant.
Deschamps’s chipper mood was easily explained. With his team’s 2-1 victory, he had achieved the only target even the best team in the world, the reigning champion, had dared to set before this World Cup. France had outlasted not only England but Brazil, Spain and Germany, too. It had made the final four. Whatever happens from this point on counts as extra credit.
Both of the semifinals follow largely the same template, pitting one of the teams that arrived in Qatar as an established contender against one of the tournament’s largely unheralded outsiders. The mention of that framing was the only thing that dispelled Deschamps’s good cheer. “Any of the four teams can win it,” he said.
Alternative readings are available. Argentina has shown a nerve and a coolness even in that white heat that indicates a certain steel. Against the Dutch on Friday evening, for example, Lionel team was far superior for vast stretches of the game. But even more impressive than its performance was that it recovered from conceding a late equalizer to win the game on penalties.
The complication, now, is that Argentina faces a Croatia team that has its own undeniable sense of purpose, a team that does not seem able to countenance the prospect of defeat, one that has shown a remarkable ability over the last two tournaments to outlast almost anyone that stands in its way, one that refuses to accept that it could be simply a character in someone else’s story.
Tournament’s leading scorer — Kylian Mbappé — and the most gifted player on the planet — also Kylian Mbappé — but an enviable array of attacking threats, a well-balanced midfield and a redoubtable defense. It barely broke a sweat in this tournament before facing England, and such is France’s self-assurance that it needed to play well for less than a third of that quarterfinal to make it through.
There are two things, though, that will give Deschamps pause for thought. The first is Morocco’s bloody-minded obstinacy.Regragui’s team has faced Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Croatia in this tournament, and it has not conceded a single goal to any of them. Indeed, the only time its defenses have been breached — against Canada — the wound was self-inflicted. If anyone can shut Mbappé down.
Just as significant, though, is the fact that this will feel like a Moroccan home game. Regragui’s team has not just been followed to Qatar by tens of thousands of its own fans, it has picked up countless supporters on its way to becoming the first African team to make the semifinals of the World Cup.
It stands, now, as an avatar not only for its continent but for its region, too, an impassioned, inspired standard-bearer for the Arab world. That has manifested in games so far; the French may have faced more illustrious teams here, but they have certainly not encountered such a hostile atmosphere.
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