Police in France geared up for the country's World Cup soccer semi-final against Morocco on Wednesday, after scuffles which followed last week's Moroccan quarter-final win over Portugal.

After putting Belgium, Portugal and Spain to the sword in Qatar, Morocco are looking to bring another soccer superpower to their knees when they face France in the World Cup semi-finals on Thursday.

Lionel Messi will have the chance to crown his remarkable career by winning the World Cup after he inspired Argentina to a comfortable 3-0 win against Croatia in the semi-final on Tuesday.

Brazilian World Cup-winner Ronaldo is not happy with the idea of fierce rivals Argentina winning the tournament in Qatar following his own country's shock exit in the quarter-finals.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni admitted it was difficult not to get carried away after his side beat Croatia in Tuesday's World Cup semi-final but called on his side to quickly gather their focus for the final.

The flags, team jerseys and billboards with players are on full display in Rabat ahead of Morocco's World Cup semi-final against France on Wednesday, but the team will have support much farther afield as the first Arab or African side to get that far.

France defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielder Adrien Rabiot are both doubtful for Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal against Morocco after missing collective training on Tuesday.

Croatia tried their best to control their World Cup semi-final but a vintage performance from Argentina skipper Lionel Messi took the game away from them, coach Zlatko Dalic said after his side were beaten 3-0 by the South Americans on Tuesday.

Didier Deschamps has a couple of records in his sights. He can become the first man in World Cup history to guide his side to the title twice as a manager after having lifted the trophy as captain in 1998.

Morocco may have defied extreme odds to get this far in the 2022 World Cup showdown, making history by becoming the first African nation to reach the semifinals, but is their gigantic feat a mere fluke? Well, it is far from it when we look back at how Achraf Hakimi and company operated so far.

Ever since the four semifinalists were decided, the streets and buses and metros in Doha have been occupied by fans mostly from Argentina and Morocco, with a large number of fans shuttling to the Qatari capital over the last few days.

Lionel Messi has confirmed he will play his last World Cup game when Argentina take on France or Morocco in Sunday's final in Qatar.

France’s Kylian Mbappe is set to meet his good friend Achraf Hakimi once again at this World Cup. But this rendezvous is definitely going to be very different than their first meet-up which was at the team hotel of Morocco in downtown Doha where the France forward paid his Paris Saint-Germain teammate a visit just about a week ago.

An inspired Lionel Messi scored from the penalty spot and Julian Alvarez struck twice as Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday to reach their second World Cup final in eight years.

Lionel Messi scored from the spot before Julian Alvarez grabbed another with a fantastic solo run to give Argentina a 2-0 lead over Croatia at halftime in the first World Cup semi-final on Tuesday

Ever since coming to Qatar to report on the latter stages of the World Cup, it has been quite evident to this reporter that Argentina are the people's favourites.

An inspired Lionel Messi scored from the penalty spot and Julian Alvarez struck twice as Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday to reach their second World Cup final in eight years.

The World Cup has traditionally been a platform that offered players the unique chance of being flung from unknowns into the realms of Kings and Kaisers over the course of just one month.

His country is in diplomatic crisis with Morocco, but that’s not stopping Tunisian Wissam Sultani supporting the first ever Arab or African team to reach a football World Cup semi-final.

Carlos Javier Mac Allister played with the great Diego Armando Maradona. His son, Alexis, is playing with Lionel Andres Messi. Only one other father and son duo, Diego and Gio Simeone, can make the same claim. Like millions of other families, the Mac Allisters have long engaged in the inevitable and endless debate about which of the two greats is better. Carlos obviously leaned towards his close friend and teammate Diego, while Alexis swore by Leo, but only till recently.