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France dismantled one World Cup dream as they moved a step closer to fulfilling their own, as the thrill ride that has been Morocco's campaign ended at Al Bayt Stadium.
On a night of raw emotion and noise in Al Khor, holders France ended the romantic notions of this tournament's glorious surprise package, going even further than they already had in becoming the first African country to reach the semi- finals.
Morocco's magnificent support, who flooded into Doha in their thousands to splash the stadium in red, were left teary but proud as France finally made class and efficiency tell, striking at either end of a tense encounter to win 2-0.
As the players, staff and their coach received a rousing applause in front of the fans with their dreams shattered, another one came into view for the final at Lusail Stadium.
Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are two of the best players in the world. On the sport's biggest stage, the Paris St.Germain team mates will be international adversaries.
The Frenchman is going for his second World Cup winner's medal while the Argentine genius has one last chance to win the title that would further bolster his claims to be the greatest to have ever played the game.
France aim to become the first country to retain the trophy after Brazil in 1959 and 1960, but it is actually a different piece of silverware than it was 60 years ago.
He was a scorer in France's 4-2 win over Croatia in Moscow in the World Cup and has the ability to add to his tally in the future. There are only three men with three medals. Twenty-one men have won more than one. The possibilities for the France forward are amazing.
The context is not the same for Messi.
He is at the end of a career in which he has won everything the game has to offer, but only one. He lost to Germany in the final of the World Cup in Rio and this is the biggest of all the tournaments.
Sunday is Messi's final World Cup game and it will be the perfect end to his story with Argentina. The great sporting icon of his country would be sad and hollow if anything else happened.
It is too close to call if the World Cup final is going to be one for the ages. It could come down to a single moment of genius from the two players most likely to give it.
In the knockout games against England and Morocco, France was able to win.
They were tested in both ways, England with the attacking threat they had and Morocco with their sheer refusal to buckle in adversity bolted on to a lot of skill, but they have come out the other side successful.
The French had plenty of composure about them here despite the fact that they were under a lot of pressure, their goals coming after five minutes from TheoHernandez and 44 seconds after coming on, the third fastest goal by a substitute in World Cup history.
A place in history and the chance to add further decoration to his stunning career are what the coach of the France team has in mind.
The 54-year-old, nicknamed "The Water Carrier" by France team-mate Eric Cantona, captained his country to the World Cup on home soil in 1998.
Vittorio Pozzo with Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Carlos Bilardo with Argentina in 1986 and 1990 are the only other coaches to lead nations to back-to-back World Cup finals. Pozzo was the first to win it twice.
Even though he lost the Ballon d'Or-winning Karim Benzema, he went about his business in his usual manner.
At this World Cup pressure point, he lost two players to illness, the last one being Ibrahima Konate who replaced Dayot Upamecano.
The World Cup is going to be decided by this.
France plays Argentina. Many people think thatMbappe v Messi is true.
The World Cup final is a personal battle between two of the greatest athletes of all time.
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