Jonathan Wilson was at the Grand Stade de Tanger to witness that absolute classic.
Semi-finals, notoriously, are not for the playing but the winning, but this was among the worst of its type. There were fouls, there was grappling, there was time-wasting, there was the feigning of injury, there were countless attempts to influence the referee, there were numerous explosions of faux outrage, there was a lot of sideways passing, and there was very little in terms of imagination or flair or quality. As a spectacle it was awful; as an occasion it held the attention only because the stakes were so high.
Read his full verdict below.
And this is me signing off. Thank you for joining me and sending in your emails. Remember to check out our MBM for the second semi-final and join us on Sunday for live updates from the final.
Up next, Nigeria v Morocco. Who will face Senegal in the final on Sunday. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat.
We’re about to find out but one thing I can almost guarantee is that we will see a much more attacking, free flowing football than in this semi-final (not that there is a high bar to clear).
Follow along in our minute-by-minute with Billy Munday.
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