France and Morocco will have history waiting for them as the two sides are set to lock horn in the second semifinal of the FIFA World Cup on Thursday at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Morocco has breached new frontiers by becoming the first-ever African semfinalist in the history of the tournament.
France is just a game away from entering a second successive final, which would make it the first team since Brazil in 2002 to do so. An even bigger wait would end if the French goes on to win the whole thing, with Brazil (1958 and 1962) the last team to achieve the feat.
Despite the deeply entrenched socio-political connections -- Morocco was a French protectorate just a century ago -- the two sides have barely played against each other in recent times.
The most recent meeting between France and Morocco came in a friendly in 2007 when they settled for a 2-2 draw at the Stade de France, Paris.
In the eighth minute, Tarik Sektioui put Morocco ahead. Sidney Govou equalised within seven minutes. In the second half, Samir Nasri gave France a 2-1 lead, but a late goal by Youssef Mokhtari forced the match to end in a 2-2 draw.
France and Morocco have met five times so far in international friendlies. But they have never faced off in the World Cup. This will be their first meeting at the showpiece event.
Their first meeting came in 1988 when France beat Morocco 2-1. However, in unrecognised matches, the two sides played multiple times in the 1960s.
In a friendly in 1998, Morocco prevailed over France in a penalty shootout. The Atlas Lions took a 2-0 lead from a brace by Salaheddine Bassir before Laurent Blanc and Youri Djorkaeff levelled the score. In the shootout, Morocco won, its only win over France.
HEAD TO HEAD
The two sides met again in 1999 and 2000, with France beating Morocco 1-0 and 5-1, respectively. Thierry Henry, Djorkaeff, Christophe Dugarry, Nicolas Anelka, and Sylvain Wiltord scored for France.
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