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Match 64
Argentina v France
Argentina overcame Croatia more comfortably than some would have thought, with Julian Alvarez announcing himself by scoring an impressive brace, and winning the penalty with which Lionel Messi opened the scoring.
Croatia sought to control the first 20 minutes and looked like they were settling into a repeat of their match against Brazil before Alvarez was put through on goal and deemed to have been fouled by goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, setting up a penalty for Messi to convert with ease.
Alvarez almost single-handedly scored the second by running the full length of the pitch, helped along the way by two fortunate missed clearances from the Croatian defenders. The Alvarez-Messi partnership has developed at exactly the right time, and looks to be causing defenders problems with Alvarez's pace and clever runs combined with Messi's vision and technical ability.
Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister have been revelations in midfield, adding solidity to defence and helping to progress the ball quickly when needed, not to mention adding a goal each at important moments. They'll both need to be on guard against Antoine Griezmann who has been outstanding in the French midfield, but this job may also fall to Leandro Paredes depending on the formation Lionel Scaloni goes with.
Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi were convincing against Croatia but weren't exactly tested as they have been in previous matches. A rampaging Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud is another matter entirely - they'll need fullbacks Nahuel Molina and one of Nicolas Tagliafico or Marcos Acuna to lend a hand stopping the French strikeforce getting momentum, not to mention pushing forward to lend a hand to the attacking build-up.
France grabbed the lead early against Morocco through Theo Hernandez after Kylian Mbappe had several shots blocked - otherwise in-form Yassin Bounou didn't cover himself in glory when rushing to shut down the shot and Morocco were unable to get back into the game afterwards.
While Morocco didn't score against France, they did create a lot of chances down goalscorer Hernandez's side, the same side that was exploited by England's Bukayo Saka repeatedly. France will need to address this weak point in their armour and an illness in the camp may have given them the answer they need - Dayot Upamecano was unable to start so in stepped Ibrahima Konate, who made several clutch tackles and interventions to dig France out of trouble. Konate may be the second line of defence needed behind Hernandez, especially with Messi prowling on that side of the pitch.
Griezmann remains the key man for France, roving from box to box, marking players out of the game while winning the ball and providing creative passes to unleash any of Mbappe, Giroud, or Ousmane Dembele. Coach Didier Deschamps doesn't shy away from assigning man-marking duties to his players - both Griezmann with Azzedina Ounahi and Giroud with Sofyan Amrabat were tactical masterclasses and helped to nullify the Moroccan threat in the midfield.
France have a gameplan for defence and the midfield but they will be reliant on their front three getting amongst an Argentinian backline that has been proven to concede goals. As in past matches, it doesn't matter if Mbappe is shut down when Giroud can still hurt you, and again if Dembele is left free to run at defenders, or even if Aurelien Tchouameni is open at the top of the box to take a deadly shot. France have gotten the job done in key matches even in the face of only one clean sheet.
The final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup may not be won in defence but on who can score the most (this seems an obvious thing to say) - it's Magical Messi v Marvelous Mbappe!
