Mbappé's mockery of Cristiano Ronaldo after reaching World Cup final

France will define the world title with Argentina after an early goal from Theo Hernandez and one near the end from Randal Kolo Muani gave them a 2-0 victory in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday and ended Morocco's magical campaign. Full-back Hernandez made it 1-0 after five minutes with a scissor-kick but the lead did not seem to be an encouragement for the defending champions, who offered only occasional flashes of their class after that.

Injury-hit Morocco caused their opponents problems and forced goalkeeper Hugo Lloris into a great save from Jawad El Yamiq's shot late in the first half. The Africans also created chances in the second half but were unable to score. A lack of goals prevented them from extending an astonishing run that included wins over Belgium, Spain and Portugal and made them the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

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France settled it in the 79th minute when Kylian Mbappé's brilliant dribble left Kolo Muani facing goal to score the decisive goal with his first touch less than a minute after coming on and following a great team move. "There's emotion, there's pride, there's going to be a final step, we've been with the players for a month, it's never easy, so far there's happiness," smiling France coach Didier Deschamps said after the match.

France are the first defending champions to reach back-to-back finals since Brazil in 2002 and on Sunday will try to emulate Brazil (1962) and Italy (1938) as the third team to retain the title. To do so, they will have to overcome Lionel Messi's Argentina, who thrashed Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday to reach their sixth World Cup final in a bid to win their third after titles in 1978 and 1986. "To play two finals in a row is an incredible moment. We've done a good job, it's been difficult, but we're in the final. We will work hard to win this final," promised Hernandez.

Mbappé will be a finalist again 

The most eye-catching feature of Sunday's final between Argentina and France will be the duel between Lionel Messi and Mbappé who are called among the best players in the world. This is a blow for Cristiano Ronaldo who has tried to brand himself as the best footballer of this era, but has already been overtaken. For Messi and Mbappé it will be the second final they have played in their careers, while Cristiano Ronaldo will retire without playing in a final.