Internationals - Hugo into second World Cup Final with France
Wed 14 December 2022, 21:30|
Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris will lead France into the World Cup Final for the second time after Les Bleus beat Morocco 2-0 in Wednesday night's semi-final in Qatar.
History beckons for our captain and France's most-capped player. Now on 144 caps, Hugo will become the first skipper to lift the famous FIFA World Cup Trophy twice if France overcome the challenge of Argentina, Lionel Messi and Hugo's team-mate at Spurs, Cristian Romero, at Lusail Stadium on Sunday (3pm).
If successful, he will also become the first captain to lift the trophy in successive tournaments. Italy had different skippers when they first achieved the feat in 1934 (Gianpiero Combi) and 1938 (Giuseppe Meazza) as did Brazil, the last team to defend the world title in 1958 (Hilderaldo Bellini) and 1962 (Mauro Ramos).
France had to be on their guard against a spirited Morocco at the Al Bayt Stadium, but were always a step ahead thanks to Theo Hernandez's opener on five minutes. Hugo denied Azzedine Ounahi from distance and then got a fingertip to keep out Jawad El Yamiq's spectacular overhead kick, via the post, in the first half.
However, France were always a threat on the break and secured victory when Kylian Mbappe weaved his way into the box and struck a shot that was deflected into the path of substitute Kolo Muani to tap home from close range 11 minutes from time.
