LIVE: Croatia vs. Morocco
This afternoon, in the third-place play-off in Doha, two familiar foes collided and resulted in the awarding of bronze medals at the 2022 World Cup. No one ever wants to compete in this match because it will inevitably result in your hopes of reaching the final being dashed in agonising fashion. That was true for both Morocco and Croatia, despite the fact that both nations could still be incredibly proud of their experiences in Qatar.
Croatia, the finalists in 2018, continued to defy the odds with remarkable tournament performances
They finished third, matching their illustrious 1998 cohort, thanks to Mislav Orsic’s stunning victory before halftime. Morocco, on the other hand, are this year’s World Cup heroes regardless of victory because they are the first African team to ever reach the semifinals on football’s most prestigious stage.
With Josko Gvardiol’s crushing first-half header quickly cancelled out by Achraf Dari before Orsic stole the show, both teams were dealing with injuries and made multiple changes as they provided far more excitement than in the goalless draw in Group F. Dan Kilpatrick, Simon Collings, and Nizaar Kinsella at Khalifa International Stadium will provide expert analysis as you live-stream the Croatia vs. Morocco reaction.
Morocco’s final word.
No one associated with the Atlas Lions will ever forget this historic World Cup campaign, despite the exhausting campaign that ended today.
They have reset expectations for football throughout the region and outperformed any previous accomplishments made by African nations on the biggest stage of football.
Dan Kilpatrick reports in Doha that Marvelous Modric ended his World Cup career on a high note. In what was certain to be the 37-year-old’s final World Cup appearance, Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 in the third-place play-off.
With goals from Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic in addition to Achraf Dari’s equalizer for Morocco, Modric’s team found the cutting edge that was sorely lacking in their semi-final defeat by Argentina.
Modric’s performances at his fourth finals suggest that he should not be ruled out of competing in the European Championship in Germany in 18 months. Modric has not indicated that he is ready to retire from international football.
The same is true for Ivan Perisic
who magnificently headed Croatia’s first goal against centre-half Gvardiol and made it so that only Lionel Messi (16) has scored more goals directly in each of the last three tournaments than the Tottenham wingback.
For Lovro Majer’s free kick in the seventh minute, Perisic moved to the left side of the penalty box and powerfully headed back into the mixer. Gvardiol rose to plant a flying header inside the post.
Congratulations to the Croatians.
You could anticipate that festivals should be fairly muffled in the wake of winning a third-place gloss over as they actually ruminate over the semi-last misfortune, yet they are totally happy… furthermore, as it should be.
As they celebrate together and proudly display their well-earned bronze medals, the squad is overjoyed.
It is truly remarkable how a nation with only around four million people can continue to defy the odds on the biggest stage in football.
96 mins: What an opportunity for Morocco to request extra time in the final moments.
En-Nesyri receives a brilliant cross from the right, and his header rises above Perisic but misses the goal.
93 mins: Morocco, despite having a phenomenal tournament, appears to have failed to achieve this goal.
They are fighting fatigue by pushing forward again, but Livakovic takes the ball first, and Hakimi runs out of room while chasing a ball down the right flank.