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Football London
Football London
Sport
Kadeem Simmonds

Ex-Premier League winner predicts France vs Morocco result following Nayef Aguerd's injury

Former France international William Gallas believes Morocco will miss Nayef Aguerd when they play France in the 2022 World Cup semi-final.

World champions France defeated England in the quarter-finals while Morocco dispatched Portugal to become the first African country to reach the final four on the world stage.

However, West Ham United's summer signing missed the fixture after picking up an injury in the round of 16 win over Spain and is a major doubt to be fit for Wednesday night's historic clash.

READ MORE: Former France defender makes bold Declan Rice 'world class' claim amid England future prediction

Without the centre-back, former Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur defender Gallas says that his home nation will have too much for Morocco, who could be without not only Aguerd but Romain Saiss, who picked up an injury against Portugal.

"As a fan, I have to say no," Gallas told Genting Casino. "France will go to the final. Don’t forget, Morocco deserve a lot of credit for what they have achieved so far, but they have lost their two starting centre backs for this game to injury [Besiktas’ Romain Saiss and West Ham’s Nayef Aguerd].

"When you play against France in a semi-final, you need your best players available. Two players will partner each other for the first time, they will not have had time to understand each other, so that is not ideal for a match of this size. Everything will come down to the small details, so for me, France can take advantage of that and that is why France will go to the final."

Aguerd missed the first few months of the Premier League season after undergoing surgery for an ankle injury in pre-season. Upon making his return at the end of October, the 26-year-old made four appearances before departing for the middle-east.

The winner of France vs Morocco will play Argentina on Sunday after they beat Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday night.

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