Milan’s Theo Hernandez delivers World Cup final for France
Milan star Theo Hernandez sent France into the World Cup final against Argentina with an acrobatic goal in their 2-0 win over Sofiane Amrabat‘s Morocco, establishing several records in the process.
The left-back rocketed through the air for a scissor finish at the back post after just five minutes, when Kylian Mbappe saw his attempt rejected.
His goal came after four minutes and 39 seconds, the fastest scored in a World Cup semi-final since Vava after two minutes for Brazil against France in 1958.
Theo Hernandez becomes the fourth Milan player to score in a World Cup semi-final after Karl-Heinz Schnellinger in 1970 for West Germany, Italy’s Gianni Rivera in the same tournament and patrickk Kluivert for the Netherlands in 1998.
It also means that a Serie A player has scored in every World Cup semi-final since 1966 (there were no semi-finals in the 1974 and 1978 editions).
It was a hugely entertaining and wide-open semi-final, which saw the Milan striker Olivier Giroud hitting the woodwork, just like the old genoa collapsing Jawad El Yamik with a spectacular kick.
Amrabat sprinted for an extraordinary tackle on Mbappé, but France doubled their lead with a substitute Randal Colorwho had only been on the pitch for 44 seconds.
Morocco will face Croatia for third place on Sunday, and curiously, it was also their opener of the group stage.