Management strategies - France and Morocco have reached the semifinals by defying soccer orthodoxy: possession is a waste of time.

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AL KHOR, Qatar—Across most of the pitch in its World Cup quarterfinal against France, England could do pretty much what it wanted. The Three Lions built attacks from the back, ambled forward and covered long stretches of the field before encountering a single blue jersey.

The Three Lions dominated possession, completed over 100 more passes than their opponents, and were completely unopposed for nearly half of their buildup play. And England still lost.

It was all part of France’s plan. The defending world champions, who won 2-1 to advance to a semifinal against Morocco, have perfected the art of winning tournament matches by surrendering the initiative and inviting pressure. With speed all over the lineup and lethal finishing up front, France has become a counter-attacking team par excellence.

“We knew they were going to want the ball, but that didn’t stop us from waiting for chances and countering,” France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said of England. “We know how to adapt.”  

France, stacked with attacking talent, is now just two wins from becoming the first repeat world champion in 60 years. But Les Bleus’ plan for pulling it off barely involves having the ball. They sit back, allow opponents to commit players forward, and break out to devastating effect in a game of high-end rope-a-dope. Morocco, its opponent on Wednesday, does this too, but only because underdogs rarely have much of a choice.

What makes France’s use of these tactics so radical is that top teams have spent the past 15 years trying to control as much possession as possible. France, instead, has adopted an underdog tactic and refashioned it for one of the most technically gifted squads in world soccer. 

“We know we can be very dangerous on the break,” said France forward Olivier Giroud, who had just 23 touches against England, but still scored the winning goal. “The important thing, as always, is in the details. We were efficient in both penalty areas.”

France scored with two of its five shots on target. Its expected goals, a metric that rates the quality of a team’s chances, were only 1.4 by one measure. In other words, the team made the most of a handful of decent, but not outstanding, scoring opportunities. That’s been the story of France’s tournament. The rest of the time, it draws opponents out and waits for the moment to hit back. Its average starting position with the ball is around 40 meters from its own goal, according to Opta—Germany and Spain, for instance, were starting nearly 10% higher up the field.

Les Bleus also concede so much space that only five teams have allowed more progressive passes (balls that travel at least 10 yards upfield or into the penalty area) at this World Cup than Les Bleus, and none of them would ever be mistaken for a defending champion. That list of defend-at-all-costs underdogs includes Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, Poland, and Ghana.

The difference is that France could play differently if it wanted to. Every member of the team is an accomplished passer. Most play their club soccer for European blue bloods that dominate possession and control games in the Champions League. As soon as they pull on a France jersey, however, they are transformed by manager Didier Deschamps into a side that attacks like a copperhead snake. It coils slowly, then strikes in a flash. 

Four years ago, France used a similar approach in Russia. Despite assembling a squad worth more than a billion dollars, manager Didier Deschamps insisted on a conservative approach. France sat deep with two midfielders right on top of the back line. As the team averaged just 48% possession through the tournament, Deschamps was accused of wasting his stars and failing to take control of games. But by the end of the tournament, it was hard to argue with him: France had won its second World Cup.

“The mentality really reminds me of 2018,” Giroud said on Saturday.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this is how Deschamps chooses to organize his team. Deschamps himself was a defensive midfielder when he captained France to victories at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. Les Bleus had mind-boggling offensive players back then too, yet still focused on stability first, always doing just enough to get results. The only knockout match France won by more than one goal across those two tournaments was the 1998 final, a 3-0 upset against Brazil. 

The tricky part for France now is that its semifinal opponent does the same thing. But Morocco’s reliance on the old backs-to-the-wall approach is merely sticking with an age-old tactic for minnows in tournament soccer. 

The Atlas Lions were unfavored in both of their knockout games here, and in two of their group-stage matches, too. So Morocco had little choice but to sit back, soak up pressure, and try to pick off their opponents on the counter. It has averaged just 32% possession in five games at this World Cup, the second-lowest of any side at the tournament, in front of only Costa Rica.

What’s new about Morocco’s underdog strategy is how coach Walid Regragui has married a defense-first tack with Morocco’s greatest strength: its collection of speedy dribblers. Flair players like Hakim Ziyech and Sofiane Boufal are usually the first guys sacrificed when a coach decides it’s time to hunker down and brace for an onslaught. 

But Regragui didn’t bench his dribblers, he made them the focal point of his plan. Morocco recognized that the pace and directness of Ziyech and Boufal could help the Atlas Lions make the most of the counter-attacking opportunities that did come their way. Because they’re so good at beating a defender off the dribble, Morocco needs to commit fewer bodies forward and complete fewer passes to advance the ball upfield. France and Brazil were the only quarterfinalists with more direct attacks in Qatar. But France and Morocco are proof that it gets results.

“Few people expected Morocco in a World Cup semifinal,” Deschamps said. “But they’re no longer a surprise.”

Write to Joshua Robinson at Joshua.Robinson@wsj.com and Jonathan Clegg at Jonathan.Clegg@wsj.com