Any team that releases players for the World Cup is eligible to receive payments from the FIFA Club Benefits Program. Money paid out to clubs is calculated based on how long a player has been away from the tournament, which is approximately $10,000 per day.

That means a club that has just one player in the World Cup final or third-place play-off could receive a payout of around $370,000.

Payments are also sometimes split between a player’s former teams, but champions Manchester City top the list of 20 Premier League clubs.

France showed why they are reigning world champions with an impressive performance that swept Morocco in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.

Morocco had conceded just once in five matches so far, but France beat them in the first five minutes of the game before adding a second with 10 minutes of the 90 remaining to play for. alleviate any pressure buildup they might have been. feeling.

They didn’t get things under control throughout the match as Morocco took the attack from them, but a defensive line consisting of Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Ibrahima Konate and Theo Hernandez was enough to fend off all the teams efforts African.

Now comes the last test of the tournament. A grand final against Argentina and Lionel Messi. Can France become world champion for a second consecutive tournament?

Argentina v France kicks off at 15:00 GMT on Sunday, December 18.

It will be shown live on BBC One and ITV 1.

Think about France in a world Cup semi-final and the image that may come to mind goes back four decades. West German goalkeeper Toni Schumacher’s assault on Patrick Battiston is so vivid, so shocking that it remains one of the most infamous moments in football history. At the time, it wasn’t even considered a foul. France, who played fine football in 1982, went out on penalties, moral winners in a 3-3 draw but losers.

Since then they have won four World Cup semi-finals, three of which involved Didier Deschamps, none with as many goals as 1982, none as memorable, each with a recurring theme. France were not necessarily clear winners, but they were winners. Like Croatia in 1998, Portugal in 2006 and Belgium in 2018, Morocco could reflect on what could have been. Like Croatia 24 years ago, another country for its first semi-final on this stage, they have the right to feel that they were the better team.

It may not matter. Better to be serial winners than gallant losers. While Deschamps’ trophy collection is impressive enough, he’s also used to leading teams to the semi-finals, from the 2004 Champions League to the 2022 World Cup. Each is a means to an end. The feeling is that his France are doing enough and no more, delivering a kind of efficiency, even if it took a lot of effort on a night when Morocco tested their resolve and their legs.

There were only a few minutes left on the clock before a missed interception gave Kylian Mbappe a chance inside the box; although the initial effort was blocked, it only fell to Theo Hernandez, who acrobatically deflected a half-volley in the air past the keeper and inside.

Olivier Giroud then fired a shot against the post and headed another shot wide, while Morocco tested Hugo Lloris from long range more than once and hit the post with Jawad Al Yamiq’s aerial kick.

The African side were utterly dominant in the second half but simply failed to find a way to goal, before Randal Kolo Muani wrapped up the win with his first touch after Mbappe’s shot was deflected on his path. Morocco still had other late chances but couldn’t get the consolation they deserved.

Here are the player ratings from the second semi-final, as France now head to Argentina.

France is staying the course to maintain the world Cup after setting up a final showdown with Argentina by beating Morocco 2-0.

Here we follow the progress of Deschamps’ reigning champions in Qatar:

If the extreme French emotion showed how close this remarkable semi-final was, their celebration is at the expense of a public celebration. They can still spoil another. Qatar will be celebrating anyway, as they have their premier event, with two of their Paris Saint-Germain stars meeting.

Through this, France became only the seventh team to successively reach world Cup finals and could become the third to retain the trophy, but only after a 2-0 win over Morocco who forced Didier Deschampsthe team to reach its last energy reserves.

Walid Regragui’s team pushed them to the limit. That could still have an influence in Sunday’s grand final against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, especially as France once again looked so unconvincing. It’s been a feature of their campaign, just like in 2018. Maybe they’re the new Germany in that sense, down to how they’ve reached three finals in the last four major competitions, and up to how they keep beating the world. darlings.

Of all the semi-finals of all the World Cups in all history, they go into this one. In their entire 122-year history, France had never met Morocco in a competitive game. They couldn’t for the first 43 of those years, of course, because the Royal Moroccan Football Federation didn’t exist, which wasn’t created until the end of the French protectorate in 1955. The pre-meetings independence were all friendly, like all the others since.

Much has been said in this part of the world of how fate has associated Morocco with several former colonizers on their journey through this tournament, and how this may have pushed them further. Maybe there is some truth in that. However, whatever the identity of their adversaries, it seems impossible for this team which comes from Montreal to Madrid, from Bourg-de-Péage to Paris, from Dronten to Huizen, as well as from Marrakech, Fez and Casablanca, to play with something other than intensity, energy and singular ambition.

All of this was on display again at the Al Bayt. You could see it in Jawad El Yamiq stretching to connect with the ball on an overhead kick, and in doing so almost scoring one of the greatest goals of any semi-final. We saw it in Sofyan Amrabat’s fabulously violent challenge to Kylian Mbappé at the start of the second half, which set the tone for a no less fierce first. You could also see it at the final whistle, when all but a handful of Moroccan players fell on their backs with their hands clasped over their heads, lamenting the end of the most remarkable story. of this World Cup.

Argentina to beat Croatia 3-0 in Tuesday’s semi-final, Messi scoring a penalty and providing a magical assist. He now has a shot at winning the game’s biggest prize, having come awfully close in 2014.

“I’m very happy to be able to achieve this, to end my journey in the World Cup by playing my last match in the final,” Messi said, ahead of Sunday’s showpiece game.

Here are some of the best World Cup moments so far, as named by The Independents writers: