Hot spots that can decide the match between France and Morocco

* France - Morocco: 2:00 on December 15, on MetaSports.

Morocco's defensive record has improved significantly, although coach Walid Regragui only has about three months of work before the 2022 World Cup kicks off.

Morocco has many top-notch attacking players, including Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech or Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri - who jumped nearly 3 meters to head Portugal in the quarter-finals.

But with so little time to convey the philosophy, Regragui was forced to put a solid defense at the core of the team's play. The full-back duo Achraf Hakimi (PSG) and Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern) joined Nayef Aguerd (West Ham) and Romain Saiss (Beşiktaş) into the most solid defense since the start of the tournament.

The uplines will support when Morocco loses the ball, forming an extremely solid block against Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Although playing with a 4-3-3 formation, they often kicked 4-5-1 when entering the match, and Morocco always approached as the bottom door and gave up the initiative to the opponent.

The army under Regragui also rarely presses high when there is no ball. After losing the ball, Morocco's solution is always to go deep and close the spaces as quickly as possible.

In particular, the task of the Moroccan strikers is to closely follow the midfielder to organize the play to stifle the ability to control the pace of the opponent's match. En-Nesyri successfully completed this task before Sergio Busquets of Spain in the 1/8 round. Barca's midfielder could not control the game as usual, seriously affecting Spain's play when they were forced to find alternatives to Busquets.

Defensive midfielder Sofyan Amrabat also significantly affects the certainty of the Morocco defense. The Fiorentina player plays in the No. 6 position and is tasked with keeping an eye on any players who enter before and around the box. Normally, this task requires him to follow two players at the same time, which means Amrabat must constantly run as well as a high level of positional and tactical awareness - something the 26-year-old midfielder does. good from the start.

Amrabat's domain is where Antoine Griezmann - who was transferred by Didier Deschamps to play an assist midfielder for France at the 2022 World Cup - operates. So, if Amrabat can contain Griezmann's influence, Morocco could create the next shock in Qatar.

Morocco's highest percentage of possession at the 2022 World Cup was 41% against Canada. This is also the only match that Morocco has conceded since the beginning of the tournament, even though it was an own goal by midfielder Nayef Aguerd. When meeting Portugal in the quarterfinals, the army under Regragui even only held the ball 26%.

It is almost certain that France will dominate the ball at Al Bayt today, but they need to be patient. The defending champions will not be able to create many chances against Morocco's incredibly solid defence, but using only crosses like Portugal did is too predictable for the African side.

According to British newspaper Sunsport, France must take advantage of the individual qualities of the stars and play wisely to find spaces inside the opponent's penalty area, instead of meaninglessly crossing Olivier Giroud.

The win over Poland in the round of 16 provided Deschamps with the perfect outline of how to break through a deep defensive block. Poland mostly played in a 6-3-1 formation for most of the game, with the wingers falling as deep as the defenders.

Thanks to that, Poland was able to close most of the gaps in front of and around the penalty area, but was still neutralized by France. Using quick and quality passes, "Les Bleus" pulled the Polish backline out of position and created space for the strikers to run.

It is important for the Dharma to be alert and calm. In the quarter-finals, Portugal began to play aggressively, especially after En-Nesyri opened the scoring. So Fernando Santos's side wasted a lot of possession.

France need to avoid going into this rut ​​and wait for the right opportunities to push the tempo, pull the Morocco defense out of position and create clear chances. This patience will be essential if France wants to break through the best defense at the 2022 World Cup. Even if they concede first, the defending champion must also be calm and try to be patient to find space in the opponent's penalty area, save the opportunity.

Morocco is not interested in long possession, just wants to get the ball forward as quickly as possible. One method to do this is through counterattack. The team nicknamed the "Lion of Atlas" as a predator in transitions, combining speed, power, accuracy, and unpredictability to break through opponents' defences.

The wingers, Ziyech and Sofiane Boufal, were expert dribblers and played a key role in these counter-attacks, occasionally assisted by Hakimi on the right. The former Real and Dortmund defender has played as a winger many times, and is a useful tool for Morocco in the opposite half.

According to Sunsport, it is difficult to stop Morocco when they are in full swing in counterattacks. Therefore, France needs to be careful not to let too many players attack and expose space for opponents to exploit, especially on the left, when Theo Hernandez likes to rise to coordinate with Kylian Mbappe.

Similarly, Morocco also tends to put themselves at risk with Hakimi's highs. The PSG star is keen to join the attack, and this leaves the space on the right of Nayef Aguerd empty. With Mbappe a constant threat on the left flank, France can capitalize on Hakimi's adventurous nature with counter-attacks on this wing.