Overview

• Morocco beat France 1-1 (5-4 on penalties) in Valparaíso to book a place in the U20 World Cup final, with France now set for a third-place match against Colombia.
• FIFA’s trialed green-card VAR intervention led to Morocco’s first-half penalty, which went in off France goalkeeper Lisandru Olmeta’s back after he initially touched the shot.
• Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi introduced third-choice goalkeeper Abdelhakim Mesbahi for the shootout, and he saved the final French attempt from Djylian N’Guessan.
• France’s campaign came despite extensive call-up refusals and the mid-tournament recall of key scorer Saïmon Bouabré, with coach Bernard Diomède noting the squad had practiced penalties.
• PSG confirmed Ousmane Dembélé, João Neves and Fabián Ruiz remain in rehabilitation, are out for Strasbourg, and that Désiré Doué is likely to rejoin the squad as Luis Enrique reiterated a no-risk approach on returns.