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Kylian Mbappé's France will go toe-to-toe with Lionel Messi's Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final after the defending World Champions beat Morocco 2-0 in Wednesday's hard-fought semi-final.

Flying left-back Theo Hernandez did brilliantly to give Didier Deschamps' side a fifth-minute lead, taking advantage of some uncharacteristically poor defending from the African side.

Morocco, undoubtedly the story of the tournament after a fairy tale run, had three injury worries heading into the tie. Key defenders Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saïss and Noussair Mazraoui were all struggling but named in the starting lineup.

Coach Walid Regragui's game plan was thrown out of the window before kick-off, though, as Aguerd was pulled moments before the game began. Saïss limped through 20 minutes before being subbed and Mazraoui was switched at halftime.

Morocco came out after the break in typically impressive fashion, forcing France into desperate defending on multiple occasions. Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi tormented goalscorer Hernandez down the French left flank, while midfielders Azzedine Ounahi and Sofyan Amrabat once again put in exceptional shifts.

France have a real knack of winning matches they don't dominate, though, as we saw in the quarter-final victory over England. Deschamps pushed Mbappé central after subbing Olivier Giroud for Marcus Thuram, a tactical switch that suddenly saw the tournament's joint-top scorer receiving more of the ball in dangerous areas.

This proved fatal to Morocco's chances just seconds after Deschamps brought on Randal Kolo Muani for Ousmane Dembélé. Mbappé's brilliant footwork ended with the ball trickling to Kolo Muani, who duly tapped it in for 2-0.

The result sets up a dream final for neutrals: Messi vs. Mbappé for the biggest prize in football. Twitter, understandably, was more than a little excited.

Mbappé has the opportunity to secure a second successive World Cup at age 23. Standing in his way is arguably the greatest player who has ever lived; one who is desperate to win the trophy for the first time.

Mbappé or Messi? Whatever your answer, do not miss it.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup has a dream final.

Kylian Mbappé and France will try to defend their World Cup crown from 2018.

Argentina will try to earn the one thing missing on Lionel Messi's illustrious resume.

Sunday's final has everything you could ask for from star power to strong defenses to a recent history between the two sides.

France defeated Argentina 4-3 in the round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup in a game that featured Mbappé, Messi and plenty of others who will be on the field Sunday inside the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Qatar.

Match Preview

Argentina and France have been two of the best sides in Qatar and are deserving of playing in the final.

Argentina cruised past Croatia in the semifinal round thanks to an early attacking onslaught led by Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez.

La Albiceleste have an extra day of rest compared to France and they played in a less stressful semifinal. Croatia did not produce much in the final third against the Argentinian defense.

The Argentina back line has been solid for most of the tournament. The South American side produced two clean sheets to recover from a humiliating loss to Saudi Arabia at the start of Group C.

Argentina defended well for long stretches of the knockout round. Its concession against Australia was an own goal and it held the Netherlands without many significant chances for 80 minutes. Croatia did not manage much in the final third on Tuesday.

Messi is the game-breaker in the Argentina attack, and he will be expected to shine again on Sunday, but the Argentinian defense could be the ultimate difference-maker.

France's back line has looked shaky for parts of the tournament. France was lucky not to concede in Wednesday's semifinal win over Morocco.

Before that clean sheet, France had not shut out an opponent in Qatar.

France has gotten away with the defensive mistakes because Mbappé, Olivier Giroud and Co. have scored multiple goals in every game the first team has started.

The concern for France comes in the form of the Argentina defense. Mbappé and Giroud could be limited by Nicolás Otamendi and Co.

Mbappé was not as dominant in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds as he was in his first three starts in Qatar.

Argentina can overload one side and commit an extra defender to Mbappé to take the 23-year-old out of the contest.

France still has other stars, like Antoine Griezmann, that can break apart Argentina, but losing some of Mbappé's chance creation could hurt Les Bleus. Griezmann is the only player with over 20 chances created in Qatar.

The attacking depth is as even as it could be. Each team has an in-form true striker in Giroud and Álvarez to support its superstar. The play of Messi, Mbappé, Giroud and Álvarez will determine the Golden Boot winner. Messi and Mbappé lead with five goals each, while Álvarez and Giroud have four goals.

If that even matchup translates to the field on Sunday, the defensive play will be the difference-maker, and that is where Argentina holds the edge for its performance over six games.

A joint investigative team appointed by the NWSL the NWSL Players Association and a jointly chosen retired district judge found "widespread misconduct directed at NWSL players" and "cultural and systemic issues" within the NWSL as part of the inquiry into allegations of abuse and misconduct.

The investigative team summarized its findings in a report released on Wednesday:

Some types of misconduct against players, including certain instances of sexual abuse and manipulation, have already been widely reported. Other misconduct, which this Report discusses in detail below, has not received as much, if any, public attention. The Joint Investigative Team found, for example, that club staff in positions of power made inappropriate sexual remarks to players, mocked players' bodies, pressured players to lose unhealthy amounts of weight, crossed professional boundaries with players, and created volatile and manipulative working conditions. They used derogatory and insulting language towards players, displayed insensitivity towards players' mental health, and engaged in retaliation against players who attempted to report or did report concerns. Misconduct against players has occurred at the vast majority of NWSL clubs at various times, from the earliest years of the League to the present.

The report continued that the "underlying culture of the NWSL created fertile ground for misconduct to go unreported" and that "institutions meant to investigate and address misconduct failed to do so effectively." It also noted that the NWSL "has been influenced by sexism, racism, homophobia, and other biases" at both a systemic and individual level.

The NWSLPA released the following statement on Twitter after the joint investigative team's findings were released:

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman released the following statement on Wednesday:

This report clearly reflects how our league systemically failed to protect our players. On behalf of the Board and the league, let me first and foremost sincerely apologize to our players for those failures and missteps. They deserve, at a minimum, a safe and secure environment to participate at the highest level in a sport they love, and they have my unwavering commitment that delivering that change will remain a priority each and every day. I also commend and am grateful for the courage current and former players demonstrated in advocating for themselves, their teammates and the future of our sport. Our players' bravery prompted this comprehensive and unprecedented investigation, which has left no stone unturned, and will be critical to informing our future as we work to heal this league, take corrective action and implement systemic reform. We are committed to making all the necessary changes to create a safe and positive environment for our players, staff and fans.

U.S. Soccer also released a statement:

In October, U.S. Soccer released the findings of an independent investigation into women's professional soccer undertaken by Sally Q. Yates, which "revealed a league in which abuse and misconduct—verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct—had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches, and victims."

Wednesday's report largely focused on the allegations of abuse and misconduct that were levied at three former NWSL coaches: Paul Riley, Rory Dames and Christy Holly.

Kaleigh Kurtz told the committee that Riley followed a similar pattern in North Carolina that he followed with Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly—of sharing inappropriate details of his romantic and sexual life with her, asking about her romantic life and consistently pressuring her to lose weight, telling her, "I hope you know I'm doing this because I love you."

Farrelly accused Riley of coercing her into sexual acts in 2011 and 2012. Shim and Farrelly also accused Riley of asking them to kiss one night in his apartment, while they were drinking together, and in return said the team wouldn't have to run a grueling running drill that week.

But other coaches and executives were named in the report. One player said former Washington Spirit head coach Richie Burke, for instance, made offensive racial and sexual comments, including jokes about Jewish people, and when questioned by the joint investigative committee said he didn't know there were Jewish players on the team.

Others named for committing potential misconduct included former Gotham FC general manager Alyse LaHue, former Utah Royals FC head coach Craig Harrington, Houston Dash coach and general James Clarkson, former Current head coach Huw Williams, former Dash head coach Vera Pauw, former OL Reign head coach Farid Benstiti and the coaching staff of the Orlando Pride, including Amanda Cromwell and Sam Greene.

The report also provides a number of recommendations, including improving sexual harassment policies, setting guidelines for interactions between staff and players, providing training to coaches and staff, improving reporting procedures and establishing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.