Didier Deschamps took charge of a record-equalling 25th game at a World Cup, and he'll have wanted to be around for at least two more before handing coaching duties over to his former teammate, Zinedine Zidane.
Mouthwatering battle between Mbappe and Hakimi
Deschamps had made only one change to his starting line-up, with Desire Doue coming in at the expense of Bradley Barcola, whilst opposite number, Mohamed Ouahbi, made two changes, one enforced, as Ismael Saibari was injured.
Redouane Halhal was dropped, and the pair were replaced by Anass Salah-Eddine and Chemsdine Talbi.
Morocco’s starting XI (avg. age 25 years 358 days) was actually their youngest at the World Cup, which was quite the vote of confidence from the manager, for a side that would play against the likes of Kylian Mbappe, already making his 20th tournament appearance.
His former Paris Saint-Germain teammate, Achraf Hakimi, was only four World Cup appearances behind Mbappe, and the expected battle between the pair would surely be one of the game's highlights.
A pattern quickly emerged
As might be expected, Les Bleus were on the front foot from the first whistle, but were also sharp out of possession, in terms of their movement and ability to shut down the passing lanes, often ensuring that Morocco had to go back in order to move forward.
Moroccan attempts to get Hakimi involved at every opportunity had already seen a pattern emerge to their play as early as the fifth minute, though by the quarter hour, and with the pace of the game pedestrian at best, only Dayot Upamecano's effort had been on target.
Plenty of the game was being played in a congested midfield, with Adrien Rabiot one of the busiest players on the pitch, making an interception as well as successfully winning an aerial duel, and 50% of his ground one-on-ones.
Much of France's attacking intent was coming down their right side, with Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise heavily involved.
Penalty missed
The latter's pinpoint delivery to Mbappe allowed the captain to motor away before drawing a foul from Noussair Mazraoui, leaving the official with no other option than to point to the spot.
Despite having the chance to draw level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, Mbappe's awful delivery gave Yassine Bounou the most comfortable of saves.
By the first hydration break, the difference in quality was abundantly clear. Seven French attempts and none for Morocco, coupled with a collective 65% possession, as well as 100% success in aerial duels and tackles made, gave an idea of just how difficult Les Bleus were going to be to break down.
Both Brahim Diaz and Azzedine Ounahi were defending from the front for Morocco, winning three of their four one-on-ones, whilst Bounou continued to repel the French attack, getting down low to divert Doue's on-target effort wide.
Morocco didn't offer an attacking threat
Even at such a relatively early stage of the match, the notion of when France would score, not if they would, was prevalent. Nine of the 10 French outfield players had an effort at goal, Lucas Digne rattling the crossbar in stoppage time, being the closest they came before the whistle blew to end the half.
Morocco had a trio of players in Hakimi, Neil El Aynaoui and Bilal El Khannouss, with a 100% pass completion in the final third, though, regretfully, none of their teammates offered anything whatsoever as an attacking threat.
The teams' battling qualities, however, which included completely stifling Dembele (who hadn't managed an effort on target), had ensured they'd got to the break without conceding.
The underdogs seized the initiative at the start of the second half and swarmed all over a French team that didn't appear to be too purposeful in possession.
Mbappe and Dembele make the game safe
Doue and Olise were the most industrious for Les Bleus, having 54 touches each by the 54th minute - more than any of their teammates.
The former's venomous shot brought Bounou's fifth save of the match, his highest total in this edition of the World Cup, and with five duels won, just one ahead of Olise, the young PSG ace was doing his utmost to help to break the deadlock.
And yet, with most of the Moroccan squad winning all of their tackles, they were making life difficult for a French side whose growing frustration was clear.
Step forward, Mbappe, to curl home a brilliant opener as the hour mark approached. Within six minutes, Dembele had doubled the lead, ending the game as a contest at that point.
Still cause for concern for Deschamps
With daylight between the two teams, the French really began to stretch their legs and open up the pitch.
Morocco still hadn't managed an attempt on target with 10 minutes to play, though Mike Maignan finally had to parry a shot away shortly after as Azzedine Ounahi let fly from distance.
Just four touches in the French box all game (compared to 22 at the other end) told its own story; however, Deschamps might still have cause for concern as his side ceded the majority of possession to Morocco over the course of the 90+ minutes (52% to 48%), having fewer total passes and a much worse showing in terms of successful dribbles (58.8% to 30.4%) too.
Against a better attacking team than Morocco, their World Cup dream might yet unravel.