Morocco manager Walid Regragui's decision to select injury doubts Nayef Aguerd and Romain Saiss against France on backfired, as both players were forced out of the game.
Aguerd and Saiss were both including in the starting XI for the World Cup semi-final at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday, despite suffering knocks earlier in the tournament. Aguerd missed Morocco's quarter-final win against Portugal on Saturday.
West Ham defender Aguerd was expected to miss Wednesday's game but was included in Regragui's initial starting XI. The Morocco manager was then forced into a last-minute change, with Achraf Dari added to the team moments before kick-off.
There was another blow at half-time, too, as Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazraoui, the third player struggling with injury ahead of the game, was unable to continue. He was replaced by Yahia Attiyat Allah at the break.
"Losing Aguerd is a huge blow for Morocco," former Premier League striker Chris Sutton told BBC Sport. "They can't worry and overthink about that now but he is one of their first choice defenders. We thought Saiss might be the one missing out."
Danny Murphy added: "That was a very late change, they have obviously given him every opportunity to play in the game but he hasn't felt up to it. It is still the same formation, but it is a blow for them because he's been terrific."
France took advantage of Aguerd's absence by scoring inside the opening five minutes thanks to Theo Hernandez's clever finish. Things went from bad to worse for Morocco in the 21st minute, when former Wolves man Saiss was forced off with an injury.
What did you make of Walid Regragui's decision to select Nayef Aguerd and Romain Saiss? Let us know in the comments below!
Morocco are the first African team in history to reach a World Cup semi-final, yet their chances of making Sunday's final now look slim due to Aguerd's injury and Hernandez's goal. The AC Milan defender is just the second player to score against Morocco in Qatar.
Murphy continued: "It was naive defending to try and pinch the ball in front of Griezmann and they were scrambling all over the place. Hernandez took his time and it was good technique. Disastrous start for Morocco. It was poor defending, which is very unlike them."
Sutton added: "All the talk has been about the Morocco backline not making a mistake... He [Hernandez] takes it superbly, gets that left hip up nice and high from an angle and fires past Bono in the Morocco goal. The perfect start from France."
Morocco have been the surprise package of the tournament after beating Canada, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. The African team defended stubbornly in their previous games and Regragui defended his smart tactics ahead of Wednesday night's clash.
He told reporters: "Pep Guardiola was my hero for a long time, I wanted to play possession football and when you have the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, that is possible.
"A lot of Europeans have criticised our style of play but that is because they don’t like to see an African team play cleverly. They think African teams used to be fun but get knocked out. But those days are over now. There isn’t just one way of winning."
