Croatia left Qatar on a high note after defeating injury-plagued Morocco 2-1 in the World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday. They had once again surpassed expectations after reaching the final in 2018. Despite losing, Morocco may still be proud of themselves for being the first African team to advance to a World Cup semifinal. Two early goals inside the first nine minutes set the tone for a tense match, with Achraf Dari cancelling out Josko Gvardiol’s opening goal for Croatia. Mislav Orsic’s late first-half goal was sufficient to end the match.
The bronze medal may have been little more than solace for Croatia and Morocco after their semi-final exits to Argentina and France, respectively, but both teams were keen to avenge their semi-final losses. Croatia earned it after controlling the early going and taking advantage of opportunities with efficiency, while Morocco was left wondering what might have been after missing multiple opportunities.
This is bronze with a golden glow. We won a tough game, said Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic, who also led the nation of four million people to runners-up in Russia four years ago. This is a medal for the Croatian people… It’s really great that we won two medals in two tournaments, big congratulations to my players.
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Early on, Morocco showed signs of nervousness as goalkeeper Yassine Bounou nearly put a clearance into his own net in the third minute.
Every time the Croatian players possessed the ball, the Moroccan fans, who have flocked to Qatar in great numbers to support their team, booed them, their whistles resonating throughout the jam-packed Khalifa International Stadium. However, Croatia played aggressively from the start and seized the lead in the seventh minute thanks to a deftly executed set-piece.
Ivan Perisic skillfully headed the ball into the fray after it floated into the box, where it was met by the masked Gvardiol, who boldly dove in for the header to calm the Moroccan delegation, if only momentarily. Two minutes later, Morocco answered at the other end with a set piece of their own. Lovro Majer’s header on a cross floated into the area, where an unmarked Dari headed past the goalkeeper. Morocco found chinks in the Croatian defence after scoring the equaliser, and their movement and nimble passing helped them create multiple opportunities. But the African team lacked the last touch or deadly instinct in front of goal, consistently falling short.
They were properly punished by Croatia in the 42nd minute as an interception in the final third led to the discovery of Orsic, whose looping shot from a tight angle flew past Yassine Bounou’s outstretched arm and in off the post. After a long tournament and both teams playing their seventh game in Qatar, the second half did not get off to as fast or furious a start as the first. Even the goal scorer, Dari, staggered off the field after choosing to go on after the break despite appearing to be labouring at the end of the first half. Croatia’s Andrej Kramaric even left the field in tears with what appeared to be a thigh injury.
Morocco had used all five of their substitutions by the 67th minute. Jawad El Yamiq became their fourth centre back to exit the tournament when he came off since Romain Saiss and Nayef Aguerd were on the bench. Physically it was difficult, our players got tired, it was intense, Morocco coach Walid Regragui said.
Croatia also felt hard done by when Gvardiol looked to have been tripped in the box by Sofyan Amrabat – now playing in defence with their centre backs injured – but the referee refused to award a penalty. The Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim also lost control of proceedings as both Croatia and Morocco were left frustrated by his decisions not to award fouls, with players from both sides squaring up at one point.
Mateo Kovacic could have put the game to bed for Croatia in the 87th minute when through on goal but shot wide while Youssef En-Nesyri came close when he headed over in stoppage time. But despite Morocco’s best efforts to find an equaliser, Croatia held on for victory and the bronze, matching the feat of their heroes from 1998 who also finished third.
Morocco broke new ground for Africa by reaching the final four. As Regragui promised, they still go home to a hero’s welcome. We wanted to please our fans. We’re still happy, we’re among the four best teams in the world, Regragui said. We provided everyone with a good show, we never gave up. Congratulations to Croatia, they deserve their third place.
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