FIFA World Cup 2022

Marciniak, who oversaw France's group-stage victory over Denmark and Argentina's Round of 16 defeat of Australia, will be assisted by compatriots Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz for the hotly-anticipated contest.

According to a sky sport report, the local government office issued a statement, which said that the boy was "violently hit" by a car in the city, in the south of France on Wednesday. "Police are investigating and the vehicle was found near the scene. Video shared on social media showed crowds milling around a car being driven erratically in the street as Moroccan fans riot following their World Cup semifinal 0-2 defeat to France," the statement read.

With the FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France a few days away, a new champion to be spotted on Sunday as the organisers have tried to catch on to the football fever and give away a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy. "Taking advantage of the World Cup fever, we are auctioning off an exact replica of the gold-plated World Cup trophy ($9,000) and many national team jerseys," said Yael Rodriguez, one of the three partners of the Matchday the Argentine company behind the auction, while talking to IANS in a Zoom interview.

Theo Hernandez's goal in the fifth minute and Randal Kolo Muani's close-range effort in the 79th minute sealed a 2-0 semifinal victory for the defending champions and set up a title clash against Lionel Messi-led Argentina at the Lusail Stadium on December 18.

While Lionel Messi is looking to lift his first World Cup, France are looking to retain the title they won in 2018 in what promises to be a tough game for both sides, Xinhua news agency reported. "Argentina are a really great team. They have shown how competitive they are, and they have this player (Messi) who has left his mark on the sport," said Lloris after Wednesday's 2-0 semifinal win over Morocco.

The Les Bleus took the lead through Theo Hernandez's scrambled fifth minute goal. Randal Kolo Muani wrapped up matters in the 79th, less than a minute after coming on, after a fine solo from Kylian Mbappe. France ended the fairytale run of the Atlas Lions in the tournament, with Dider Deschamps side bidding to become the first team in 60 years to win back-to-back titles.

"Messi announced that this is probably his last World Cup, and he is playing like that. He is playing like this, is it? It is now or never," said Rooney on the VISA Match Centre show on Sports18. Earlier, Messi had confirmed the 2022 FIFA World Cup final to be his swansong in the mega event. "I feel very happy, to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final."

With France all set to face Morocco in the semi-finals of this year's World Cup at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Griezmann's closest rivals for the top assists award already have eliminated from the competition. His three assists have also made him the all-time top assist man for Les Bleus with 28, ahead of 27 for Thierry Henry and 26 for Zinedine Zidane.

The 35-year-old scored a goal in the match through a penalty, which is his fifth in Qatar 2022. In the process of taking Argentina to the final, Messi set many records and also set himself up for bettering more marks in international football and FIFA World Cup when Argentina take on the winner of the second semifinal between France and Morocco.

Julian Alvarez scored a brace and Lionel Messi converted a penalty as Argentina won their fifth consecutive match in this tournament after starting with a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia. "We'll celebrate because we know it's exciting to advance to the final," Scaloni said after the semifinal.