MOROCCO have already smashed through a glass ceiling at Qatar 2022 and will be looking to make more history when they bid to dethrone World Cup kings France in the semi-finals.
Roared on by a partisan crowd, Walid Regragui's men became the first African side to win a World Cup quarter-final when they edged out Portugal on Saturday.
Our man Mark fancied the Portuguese to end Morocco's adventure after watching Fernando Santos' team crush Switzerland 6-1 in arguably the best team performance of the tournament.
But Regragui has moulded one of the meanest defences in the world and yet another clean sheet provided the platform for Youssef En-Nesyri to head a memorable winner.
The Moroccans have conceded just once all tournament, an own goal against Canada, but now need to tame an attack spearheaded by the most dangerous player in the world.
Kylian Mbappe remains in the box seat for the Golden Boot at Qatar 2022 with five goals, despite drawing a blank in the nerve-jangling quarter-final win over England to scupper one of Slips Tips' bets.
Instead it was Olivier Giroud who proved to be the matchwinner, heading home to make it 2-1 before Harry Kane's ballooned penalty rubber-stamped England's exit.
That underlined the French are far from a one-man team, with Antoine Griezmann also chipping in with two assists, and they are now favourites to win back-to-back World Cups.
How the bookies view it
Morocco will have to defy the odds again as they are 17/5 to qualify (SBK) and 117/20 (Highbet) for a win inside 90 minutes. France are odds-on in both those markets, with William Hill making them 1/4 to qualify and a win in 90 minutes paying 49/100 at Highbet. The draw at 90 minutes is 14/5 with the same firm.
Head to head
These nations have only faced off four times before and history is on the side of the French who have yet to taste defeat. All those matches were friendlies and the last meeting ended in a 2-2 draw back in 2007.
Players to watch
It's hard to look past Mbappe for the French, with Les Bleus yet to lose a World Cup finals match with the PSG sensation in their side. The striker is 32/25 with Highbet for a goal while McBookie price him at 5/2 for an assist.
Sofiane Boufal and Hakim Ziyech have provided the flair for Morocco going forward. The Chelsea star limped off against Portugal so Boufal might be the best option for some magic here. The Angers winger is 153/20 for a goal at Highbet and McBookie have him at 13/2 for an assist.
Anything else catch the eye?
Morocco's heroic efforts at these finals have taken a toll, with injuries to key players in defence. Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui missed the win over Portugal while Romain Saiss was stretchered off with a hamstring problem in that 1-0 win. Striker Walid Cheddira also misses out here after his red card.
If Aguerd, Mazraoui and Saiss all miss out, it could be hard for Morocco to put up another defensive masterclass. That makes over 1.75 French goals a decent option at 23/20 with Highbet. France -1 in the handicap appeals for the same reason at 8/5 with Unibet.
Cards are wiped for the semi-finals so only a red card will rule someone out of the showpiece. That could lead to some tasty tackles and plenty of yellows in this one. Over 4.5 match cards is 27/25 at Unibet and I like the evens at the same firm for over 2.5 Morocco cards.
Backing Portugal in the corner handicap paid off for me on Saturday, as they won 9-3 on that count after piling on the second-half pressure. Morocco have won just six corners in the entire tournament so I like France -3 in the handicap here at 10/11 with Unibet. Adding one more to that handicap increases the odds to 27/20.
This World Cup match between France and Morocco will be played on Dec 14, 2022 and kick off at 19:00. Check below for our tipsters best France vs Morocco prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
