World Cup 2022 updates: Grant Wahl died of heart aneurysm

All set for tonight’s game, defenders Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui return from the injury problems that ruled them out of the 1-0 win over Portugal in the quarterfinals.

Morocco coach Walid Regragui has opted for a three-man central defence, with captain Romain Saiss fit to start after picking up a knock against Portugal.

Midfielder Selim Amallah drops to the bench, along with full-back Yahya Attiat-Allah.

Follow live updates from the match here.

France has made two changes to their starting line-up for their semifinal match against Morocco, with Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano both dropping out of the side due to illness.

Youssouf Fofana comes into the midfield in place of Rabiot while Ibrahima Konate of Liverpool takes the place of Upamecano alongside Raphael Varane in central defence.

It is just a seventh cap for Monaco midfielder Fofana, and a sixth cap for Konate, as the holders look to secure a place in Sunday’s final against Argentina.

The rest of coach Didier Deschamps’ starting XI is the same as against England in the quarterfinal, when they won 2-1 thanks to a late Olivier Giroud goal.

The Morocco-France semifinal will be the last World Cup match played at the remarkable Al Bayt Stadium, a venue inspired by traditional Bedouin tents, 50km north of Doha in the city of Al Khor.

Over in Morocco’s capital Rabat, it continues to rain but that is no deterrent for fans gathering to watch their country’s team play against France.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra says the excitement and joy in the city is incredible, and the World Cup has provided a unique opportunity for people to set aside other anxieties.

“This is not about just football. The national team of Morocco has managed to bring them something so precious that they can share with generations to come,” he said.

Charles Marikanis, 60, from Paris says there is “little chance” France will lose to the Atlas Lions today.

“We are the best team in the world. In the World Cup, the team has shown how dangerous they can be. I’m confident of winning today,” the real estate professional told Al Jazeera.

With about two hours left until kickoff, the excitement is growing at Al Bayt Stadium.

The Moroccans fans, as they have been at all their matches, are in majority at the nearly 69,000-capacity venue.

Crowds have gathered at the complimentary flag and FIFA stores and fans are snapping up Morocco and France scarves and shirts.

Meanwhile, others have gathered at the FIFA music stage to dance to Madcon and Avicii classics, singing along while they pass their time before the match starts at 10pm (19:00 GMT).

Argentina’s national carrier has scheduled two extra flights from Buenos Aires to Qatar to take football fans to the World Cup final.

Both Aerolíneas Argentinas flights sold out quickly. The first one leaves from Argentina’s capital on Friday morning, and tickets for that flight were gone within a half-hour of the national team’s 3-0 victory over Croatia in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

Tickets for the second flight, which leaves on Friday night, went on sale earlier today and were sold out within a couple of hours, the airline said in a statement.

“We were able to get to the final stage of this successful operation thanks to the victories by the national team that allowed us to keep scheduling flights,” airline president Pablo Ceriani said. “Now we have to support them in this last game, and we hope to bring the World Cup back home again.”

Rachid Haddoun, another fan who did not manage to get a ticket, said he wanted to be “as close” to the Atlas Lions as he could.

“I want be in the moment … where it’s all happening,” the 54-year-old said, having arrived from Morocco on Monday evening.

“I am doing everything to get tickets … but if not, I will just watch it on TV or fan zones … I want to be close to them (Morocco team),” the business owner told Al Jazeera at Souq Waqif, saying he had paid $2,100 for tickets.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience … Morocco is playing for Arabs, Africans and the Muslim world.”

As Morocco and France prepare to face off in a historic match tonight, both nations are in the grip of excitement and anticipation – and fear of possible unrest.

Supporters are planning gatherings in bars from the boulevards of Paris to the streets of Morocco’s capital Rabat, from the cosmopolitan French Riviera city of Nice to the historic Moroccan city of Marrakesh.

Paris authorities say they are mobilising 2,000 police officers – 800 more than on Saturday night for the quarter-finals, when France defeated historic rival England 2-1.

Some local officials called for the closure of Champs-Elysees avenue, though that was ultimately rejected by Paris City Hall.

“The support for Morocco is fierce, it’s proud and it’s loud,” says Al Jazeera’s Alexi O’Brien from Souq Waqif, where fans have gathered wearing red hats and shirts.

The fans are chanting: “Move, move … if you do not move, you are not Moroccan!” as well as ““Come on brothers, bring it home!”

Morocco is representing the hopes and dreams of the entire region, says O’Brien, but while the Morocco fans are confident ahead of tonight’s game, there is also trepidation as they know it will be a really tough match.

“If they make it to the finals, the Souq here will just explode with joy,” she said.

Despite not having any match tickets, Moroccans have arrived in Doha desperate to find a way to get into Al Bayt stadium to see the Atlas Lions play their first-ever World Cup semifinal.

Iman Zarouk, a 40-year-old pharmacist from Fez, arrived this morning with her husband and two friends without game tickets or a place to stay.

“We just booked our flight yesterday for 500 euros [$532] … that is quite expensive. We have no accommodation, but I want to be here to support my our team in any way,” she told Al Jazeera at Souq Waqif in central Doha while lugging around her suitcase.

Earlier today, Morocco Air said it was cancelling all flights to Doha due to restrictions imposed by Qatar authorities.

“I don’t think Morocco will get another chance to be in the semifinal … we wanted to at least try to be at this very important match,” Zarouk said.

A heart aneurysm caused the death of Grant Wahl, the US sportswriter who collapsed and died last week while covering a World Cup match in Qatar, his widow has said.

“Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium,” she wrote on her husband’s website, referring to the wall that surrounds the heart.

“The chest pressure he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms. No amount of CPR or shocks would have saved him. His death was unrelated to COVID. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death.”

Wahl, 49, a former Sports Illustrated writer who had moved to the Substack online publishing platform, was tweeting about the Netherlands-Argentina match on Friday when he collapsed.

Pundits have been unanimous in their analysis: Morocco have advanced this far because of their stellar defending. The football team has conceded just one goal in the tournament – an own goal against Canada.

A compact 4-1-4-1 defensive bloc has squeezed out any space that could be found between the lines in midfield and defence.

The only thing more frustrating for their opponents than their impermeable defending is glancing over at Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and realising that he is smiling through it all.

Read the story here.

Yassine Bounou was saving Spain's penalties with a smile.. GOAT things 😏 pic.twitter.com/VBecCY09Sy

— Pulse Sports Nigeria (@PulseSportsNG) December 6, 2022

Morocco’s fairy tale World Cup run has led to widespread support from the Global South.

Read the story here.

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from Casablanca, says that since the morning, car horns have been honking on the streets and people have been putting on the colours of Morocco – red, green and white.

“In this cafe, the meal of the day is a special dish called the rooster. Why? Because the symbol of France is the rooster, and when I spoke to the waiters here, they said the Atlas Lions will eat them alive.

“There is such optimism that this team is going to beat France.”

A security guard at Lusail Stadium has died after suffering a fall while working there on Saturday, World Cup local organisers, the Supreme Committee (SC), have said.

According to an SC statement issued on Wednesday, medical teams attended to John Njau Kibue after the incident and provided emergency treatment before he was transferred to the hospital.

“We regret to announce that, despite the efforts of the medical team, he sadly passed away in hospital on Tuesday 13 December, after being in the intensive care unit for three days,” the statement said. “His next of kin have been informed. We send our sincere condolences to his family, colleagues and friends during this difficult time.”

The organisers said they are investigating the circumstances leading to the fall “as a matter of urgency”.

The second day of the World Cup 2022 semifinals will pit two-time champions and holders France against Morocco.

Kashef, our artificial intelligence robot, has analysed more than 200 metrics, including FIFA rankings, the number of wins and goals scored from matches played over the past century to see who is most likely to win on Wednesday.

Sizing up all these factors, Kashef has once again concluded that Morocco face an uphill battle. Kashef strongly favours France for the win, giving the team a 68 percent chance of ending Morocco’s fairy tale World Cup run.

Read more here.

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The pandemic and now a drought in the making in Morocco have set the cost of living soaring, but for 34-year-old merchant Amina El Ouafi, Morocco’s march into a World Cup semifinal is a step out of a mundane life for her and her children.

“It’s been so long since I was able to do something nice for my children,” she said.

“I can barely cover our monthly expenses, but I told myself, ‘Why not? I will do it now,’” she said, describing the bright red and green shirts she bought for her six- and 12-year-old ahead of the semifinal.

They cost her a day’s worth of food.

Read what Moroccans in Rabat are saying about the upcoming semifinal here.

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from Casablanca, says it rained heavily this morning, which Moroccans consider to be a good omen.

“It’s a sign that Morocco will take the World Cup by storm,” Haque said. “People were taking pictures of the rain. There’s a sense here that Morocco is going to beat France. If you talk to anybody here, it’s not a question of if – it’s a question of what the score will be.

“Most people will be watching the game in cafes. There’s a few fan zones. … There’s a sense of excitement and anticipation.”