Good morning to everyone but especially to...
FRANCE
Two countries have repeated as World Cup champions: Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in 1958 and 1962. France is one match away from joining that very exclusive group.
Les Bleus beat Morocco, 2-0, in a highly entertaining semifinal and will face Argentina in the final Sunday.
Theo Hernández scored the opening goal just five minutes in with an athletic half-volley off Kylian Mbappé's blocked shot.Morocco threatened time and time again -- including Jawad El Yamiq's bicycle kick hitting the post -- but could not find a breakthrough.Substitute Randal Kolo Muani doubled Les Bleus' lead in the 79th minute, tucking one home from close range, again after an Mbappé shot was blocked.
While far from its best effort, France showed the mettle of a champion. Morocco had only allowed one goal all tournament before Didier Deschamps' team scored two. France also registered its first clean sheet of the tournament, and for that, Raphael Varane deserves enormous credit, writes Jonathan Johnson.
Johnson: "He has rediscovered his former self in Qatar just in time for another shot at title glory. As Deschamps has done with Antoine Griezmann, he has also done with Varane and stripped his game back down to the basics and rebuilt one of his most trusted on-pitch lieutenants. ... Varane has done brilliantly to bring shape and discipline to a largely unbalanced French defense given Theo Hernandez's attack-minded approach, Jules Kounde's awkwardness as a makeshift right back and Dayot Upamecano's continued jitters."Morocco, meanwhile, saw its dream run come to an end, but the Atlas Lions showed they very much belonged, writes James Benge.
Now, the final is set, and it's a terrific matchup. Mbappé and Lionel Messi -- two of the game's brightest stars and teammates at Paris Saint-Germain -- will lead their respective attacks. We'll have more preview content tomorrow, but rest assured: This has the potential to be an all-time great final.
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for...
STEPHEN CURRY AND THE WARRIORS
The Warriors lost to the Pacers, 125-119, last night to fall below .500 on the season, but the reigning champs may have suffered a loss much worse than what the scoreboard read: Stephen Curry appeared to injure his left shoulder in the third quarter and did not return. He'll undergo an MRI today.
Though the Warriors have struggled, Curry has been terrific -- Brad Botkin explained Curry's dominance Monday.
He was on his way to another huge game, with 38 points, seven rebounds and seven assists before exiting.This season, the Warriors outscore opponents by seven points per 100 possessions with Curry on the court. They get outscored by 11.1 points per 100 possessions without him.Golden State has also lost all three games Curry has missed this year.
