French fans were ecstatic, Moroccans were heartbroken and neutrals were unimpressed after the 2-0 win that put Le Bleu through to meet Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday.

In comparison with the previous semi-final, this was anti-climactic and lacking in intensity, despite the high stakes.

It was a competent French side, no more, up against a tired Moroccan outfit who had their moments but never made the most of them, losing with honour and without surrender.

Looking like Santa’s elves in their green and red colours, the Moroccans certainly weren’t of a mind to give away any presents…but they did gift an early goal.

In only the fifth minute, the derailment of the Marrakesh Express began.

The goal was a lot of luck and a bit of brilliance as first Antoine Griezmann then Kylian Mbappe failed to score but the ball broke free to marauding left back Theo Hernandez, who pulled the ball down from near head height to drill it past a hesitant Bounou in the Moroccan goal (1-0).

It could have been two 10 minutes later when Olivier Giroud smashed the ball against the left post after outsprinting the injured Saiss, who was substituted soon after.

The first portion of the half belonged to France but it ended with Morocco pressing hard, a situation that continued after the break, with France surviving some close calls.

Morocco were creating good chances but for some reason seemed reluctant to pull the trigger, rather choosing intricate passes in the box to get a better angle.

Not so France: give them a sniff of a shot and they will take it, which is exactly what happened in the 78^th minute

France were relying on counter punches as Morocco were forced to throw men forward and Mbappe latched onto an upfield pass and dribbled through the crowd before pushing the ball into the path of Randal Kolo Muani, who had only been on the field for less than a minute.

With no traffic in front of him and an empty goal beckoning, he guided the ball home for an all but unassailable 2-0 lead.

Morocco were still pounding away as the final minutes ticked away, to no avail.

On reflection, the double pre-match threat of Mbappe and Giroud, while solid, was not all that daunting; and it was once again Griezmann who was the match winner.

Playing the role of defender rather than his customary duty as provider, he broke up moves, won the ball in tackles and intercepted passes all night.

Sentiment aside, and as much as we root for the underdogs, the soccer purist will be pleased that Argentina and holders France will duel for the trophy on Sunday.

Both sides deservedly won their semis and on those performances, Messi & Co must surely be favourites.

Croatia and Morocco, both leg-weary and injury-strung, will honour the meaningless 3^rd/4^th place playoff on Saturday.

There might be financial considerations, but winning that one is as exciting as queuing for candles during loadshedding.