DOHA, Qatar
\nAs the final whistle blew on Wednesday night in Al Khor, Moroccan players dropped to the ground in a culmination of disappointment and physical exhaustion. France had beaten them 2-0, but the Atlas Lions \u2013 the tournament\u2019s giant killers \u2013 had gone toe to toe with the current champions throughout.
\nAmid the wild celebrations from the French players, their superstar forward, Kylian Mbappe, could be seen weaving his way around his teammates before leaning over his good friend and stalwart of the Moroccan defence, Achraf Hakimi. He helped the full-back to his feet before the two men shared a warm embrace.
\nThe heartwarming moment reflects the sincere and public respect the two friends showed each other during Morocco\u2019s first-ever World Cup semifinal appearance last night.
\nBefore the match, the two were visibly pleased to see each other shaking hands and hugging in the tunnel, and during the game, they were seen sharing a joke. And barely a couple of hours after the match, Mbappe made his respect for his friend and the Moroccan side public.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t be sad bro, everybody is proud of what you did, you made history,\u201d the French star posted on Twitter, with an image of the friends embracing.
\nIt is a longstanding friendship that has blossomed since Hakimi transferred to Paris Saint-Germain \u2013 where Mbappe also plays \u2013 in 2021. They are often seen socialising with each other outside of football, including a joint holiday in Spain.
\nHakimi has earlier defended Mbappe when the prospect of him leaving PSG was brought up. \u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to have him by my side. He is one of the best players in the world, but above all, he is my friend. I love him,\u201d Hakimi had told Telefoot in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DOHA, Qatar As the final whistle blew on Wednesday night in Al Khor, Moroccan players dropped to the ground in a culmination of disappointment and physical exhaustion. France had beaten them 2-0, but the Atlas Lions \u2013 the tournament\u2019s giant killers \u2013 had gone toe to toe with the current champions throughout. Amid the wild […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-301761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n