Watch: Morocco agonisingly close to outrageous overhead goal in World Cup semi-final against France

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Jawad El Yamiq's audacious effort was denied by a combination of Hugo Lloris and the post

Jawad El Yamiq
(Image credit: Getty)

Morocco were inches away from a sensational overhead kick equaliser against France in their World Cup 2022 semi-final on Wednesday.

The Atlas Lions, who are the first African team ever to reach the last four at a World Cup, went behind early to a Theo Hernandez strike.

But they finished the first half strongly and Jawad El Yamiq came close with an audacious, acrobatic effort that required sharp reactions from Hugo Lloris.

Hakim Ziyech’s corner was headed up into the air by a defender and dropped to El Yamiq 12 yards out.

The centre-back leapt into the air with his back to goal and volleyed an overhead kick towards the bottom corner, but Lloris got across and tipped it onto the post.

The loose ball was hacked clear, and France survived to take a 1-0 lead in at the break.

It was a gutting moment for the 30-year-old El Yamiq, who would’ve been an unlikely source of such an outrageous goal – he had scored twice in 24 caps for his country before Wednesday.

Alasdair Mackenzie

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.