Sports

Photos from the World Cup, as Argentina, France prepare to face off in the finals

By Maansi Srivastava

Published December 15, 2022 at 9:10 AM CST

France's players celebrate their victory in a 2022 World Cup semifinal match with Morocco on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will come to a close this weekend, after weeks of brilliant soccer. On Sunday, the best soccer players from Argentina and France will play in a must-see final match. Argentina, led by star player Lionel Messi, will play France, which is armed with strong players like Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud.

On Wednesday, Dec. 14, France defeated Morocco after taking an early lead and scoring a goal five minutes into the match. France's Théo Hernandez, who was filling in for his brother, Lucas Hernandez, scored the early goal. While Morocco struggled to score at all, they made several goal attempts that were thwarted by France's defense. In the second half, France's substitute Randal Kolo Muani scored a goal to cement France's 2-0 lead and victory.

France's Jules Koundé, left, and Aurelien Tchouameni, right, celebrate their victory after a World Cup semifinal match with Morocco on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. France won, 2-0.

Moroccan defender Jawad El Yamiq (No. 18) attempts a shot as he's marked by French forward Ousmane Dembélé (No. 11) during a 2022 World Cup semifinal match on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. The attempted shot almost changed the course of the match.

<strong>Left: </strong>France's fans celebrate their victory at Champs-Élysées in Paris after France defeated Morocco in a 2022 World Cup semifinal match on Wednesday, Dec. 14. <strong>Right: </strong>Morocco's fans react after the team lost, 2-0, in a semifinal match with France on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha, Qatar. — **Left:** France's fans celebrate their victory at Champs-Élysées in Paris after France defeated Morocco in a 2022 World Cup semifinal match on Wednesday, Dec. 14. **Right:** Morocco's fans react after the team lost, 2-0, in a semifinal match with France on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha, Qatar.

French forward Kylian Mbappé (C) fights for the ball with Morocco's midfielder Azzedine Ounahi (top) and defender Jawad El Yamiq (R) during a 2022 World Cup semifinal match on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha, Qatar.

France's fance react next to the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées avenue at the end of a World Cup semifinal match with Morocco on Wednesday, Dec. 14, in Paris.

Morocco's fans, one waving a Palestinian flag, watch a World Cup semifinal match with France on Wednesday, Dec. 14, outside the Al Bayt Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

On Tuesday, Dec. 13, Argentina dominated in the semifinal match and eliminated Croatia from the tournament with a score of 3-0. Argentina's Messi successfully scored a penalty kick in the first half, and 22-year-old Julián Álvarez brought in two more goals. Croatia was unable to keep up with Argentina's momentum throughout the game, though Croatian player Luka Modrić gave a strong performance.

Croatia will fight for the third-place prize on Saturday, Dec. 17, against Morocco. The European nation has placed third in the tournament before, in their first-ever World Cup run in 1998. Morocco, also known as 'the Atlas Lions,' makes history by being the first African nation to have made it to the World Cup semifinals, and has the opportunity to make history once again on Saturday.

Argentina's fans celebrate in Buenos Aires' Francisco Seeber square while watching a live broadcast of the 2022 World Cup semifinal match between Argentina and Croatia on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Argentina's Lionel Messi and Croatia's Joško Gvardiol, right, battle for the ball during a 2022 World Cup semifinal match on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar.

Argentina's players celebrate with their fans after the team's victory during the 2022 World Cup semifinal match with Croatia on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail City, Qatar.

With its quarterfinal performance, Morocco made history by being the first African nation to reach the World Cup's semifinal round. The team defeated Portugal 1-0, with spectacular saves by Morocco's goalkeeper Bono and an incredible goal by Youssef En-Nesyri, who jumped over 9 feet into the air to score. Argentina reached the semifinals by defeating the Netherlands in a tense penalty shootout, with a final score of 4-3.

England, the Netherlands, Portugal and Brazil finished their journeys in Qatar at the quarterfinals. Many anticipated Brazil advancing to the finals, but Croatia pulled ahead. France had a strong quarterfinal performance and won their match against England with a score 2-1.

Moroccans celebrate in Rabat, Morocco, on Saturday, Dec. 10, after Morocco defeated Portugal in a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal match played in Qatar.

Morocco's goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, also known as Bono (left), saves a shot by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (top) next to Morocco's defender Achraf Dari during a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal match on Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Croatia's players celebrate their victory in a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal match against Brazil on Friday, Dec. 9, at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha, Qatar.

Brazil's forwards Neymar (left) and Rodrygo react after losing in a penalty shoot-out after extra time of a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal match with Croatia on Friday, Dec. 9, at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha, Qatar.

Argentina's goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez (No. 23), saves a shot by Netherlands' defender Virgil van Dijk (No. 4) in a penalty shoot-out during a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal match on Friday, Dec. 9, at the Lusail Stadium, north of Doha, Qatar.

Argentina forward Lautaro Martínez (No. 22) celebrates after scoring in a penalty shoot-out to defeat the Netherlands in a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal match on Friday, Dec. 9, at the Lusail Stadium, north of Doha, Qatar.

Argentina's fans watch a penalty shootout on a screen in Buenos Aires as their team works to beat the Netherlands, 4-3, in a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal match on Friday, Dec. 9.

You can tune into the final on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 10 a.m. EST.