FIFA World Cup 2022: Croatia defeat a spirited Morocco 2-1 to win the third-place playoff
Croatia beat Morocco 2-1 in the third-place playoffs of the World Cup at the Khalifa Stadium on Saturday evening to end the African side’s dream run in Qatar. Goals from Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Oršić were enough for the 2018 finalists to get the better of a spirited Moroccan side.
Both teams came into the contest after suffering the disappointment of not making it to the final of the quadrennial event. Though many would have anticipated the third-place match to be devoid of any intensity, it certainly wasn’t the case.
The passion and desire to win a football match was as high as the motivation that playing in a World Cup final brings – making up for an intriguing watch for the neutrals.
A blistering start to the match
The two teams were off the blocks in a lightning-quick manner with Croatia drawing the first blood. A fee-kick curled from 40-50 yards out was cushioned into the back of the net, past a diving Bounou by Gvardiol, one of the stars of the tournaments, with much ease in the seventh minute.
However, before Croatian fans even had the time to rejoice their team’s goal, Morocco, through a free kick two minutes later, managed to restore the parity.
Walid Regragui and his men, known for their defensive solidity were often scruffy in their clearances. Croatia had numerous chances within the first half an hour to double the lead.
The half-hearted clearances from Morocco came back to haunt them when Mislav Oršić, given a starting place in the playing XI tied the laces behind a beautiful curling shot in the 42nd minute that flew past Bounou , who had no chance to stop that.
The goal came against the run of play as Morocco had amassed a flurry of chances in the 15 minutes prior to it.
After the break, Regragui made one substitution by replacing Abdelhamid Sabiri with Ilias Chair. However, it was the 2018 finalists that picked up the tempo first with goalscorer Orisic letting one fly that grazed the side netting.
Perhaps Morocco’s biggest chance of the match came in the 75th minute when Youssef En-Nesyri, loitering all alone at the far post was found by his teammate.
En-Nesyri, the hero of the quarterfinal against Portugal pulled the trigger but for the umpteenth time for Croatia, keeper Livakovic came to the rescue.
Afterwards, the Moroccan players had a tough time keeping their heads about it as tempers flared, trying to chase the equalising goal. Morocco tried hard but with no finesse in the final third, they had to pay dearly, once again.
Croatia started the game with coach Zlatko Dalic making five changes to the starting XI from their defeat against Argentina. The most notable omission was of Marcelo Brozovic who had to leave the field during the last game, soon after halftime.
As for Morocco, their captain Romain Saiss could not break into the XI after failing to recover from an injury.
Morocco may not have reached the finals or won third place but their fairytale run at the World Cup will be remembered for ages. They have given hope, not only to Asia, Africa or the Arab world hope but to all those nations that dream of making it to the World Cup one day.
“It’s a bitter defeat but I think it’s deserved. We have a team that never gave in. We’ll remember a lot of matches, we’re going to come back stronger. We’ve united our country for a month, everybody was happy,” said Regragui ina post-match interview.
As for Croatia, it was the first time since 1998 that they finished third at the FIFA World Cup, having beaten Netherlands 2-1 at Parc des Princes that time.
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