With only the final match left in the FIFA 2022 World Cup, the 2018 runners-up Croatia took on the tournament’s wonder team Morocco at the Khalifa International Stadium in the third-place play off to see who takes home the bronze medal at FIFA 2022. Croatia were defeated by Argentina in their semifinal bout while Morocco were taken down by the defending champions France in the semis.
The third-place playoff saw a to and fro contest as both teams scored early openers within the first 10 minutes of the match. Mislav Orsic scored the second Croatian goal just minutes before the end of the first half with the half eventually ending with Croatia leading 2-1. The second half went goalless as Orsic’s goal turned out to be the decisive goal that ultimately gave Croatia the victory over Morocco, thus taking home the bronze medal, finishing FIFA 2022 at third place.
Morocco headed into the match with Hakim Ziyech leading the team and Romain Saiss on the bench. The last match between Croatia and Morocco was in the group stage and ended in a 0-0 draw. On the other side, Luka Modric wore the arm band to lead Croatia for seemingly the final time at the world cup stage. The Croatians got the ball rolling to kick things off!
Just 2 minutes in, Moroccan goalkeeper Bounou almost made a terrible mistake as he badly miscued an impulsive clearance while gesturing to Jawad El Yaqim to stay calm, when a Croatian player came dashing in. The ball bounces off the opponent and runs along the ground dangerously closer across the face of goal before going out of play on the other side.
7 minutes into the first half, Croatia got their opening goal after a free kick on the left for Croatia was converted. Captain Luka Modric took the free kick, popping it to Perisic who further crossed it into the box Gvardiol who pumped it into the Moroccan goal. Just as Croatia was celebrating the early lead, Morocco out of nowhere, fought back with a quick equalizer just 2 minutes after the Croatian goal. Ziyech sent in a free kick from just under 30 yards out into Modric, who headed it off in an attempt to clear, but Dari latched on to the attempt and headed it into the goal instead. At 10 minutes, both teams were leveled with a goal each!
The action kept going back and forth throughout the first half, and as it seemed that the first half would end with a 1-1 draw, Croatia struck out of nowhere with Mislav Orsic scoring the second goal to give Croatia the lead at 42 minutes. It was a crafty tight angled goal by Orsic, who shot the ball past Bounou after a cross from the left. The first half eventually ended with Croatia taking a crucial 2-1 lead over Morocco.
The second half began with Morocco kicking things off and Croatia immediately took control. Orsic almost scored the third goal for Croatia when he cut through from the left and fired in a shot that hit the side netting after a deflection. Morocco never really fought back into the game after the first half, as they kept slipping out opportunities to Croatia. Amrabat almost gave away a third Croatian goal in the 71st minute when his pass was intercepted byVlasic who took a shot from 40 yards out, but it didn’t convert!
The second half went along with Croatia enjoying maximum ball possession, simply wasting time and not allowing a Moroccan equalizer. They did well to defend their lead as the referee called the whistle, giving Croatia the victory and a resultant bronze medal in the FIFA 2022 world cup.
Morocco missed out on the chance to become the first African nation to pick up a medal at the tournament. The end of the match saw a number of Moroccan players trying to get at the referee and then their coach Walid Regragui gets in the faces of the officials. Nonetheless, the victory also sees Croatia captain Luka Modric end what is likely to be his last World Cup with a bronze medal.
Now with all other matches done, all eyes would be set on the Sunday’s title clash that sees Lionel Messi’s Argentina take on the defending champions France. Will it be Mbappe getting his team their second straight World title, or will it be Messi’s first taste of world cup gold. We’ll find out! Stay tuned with 90agency for all the action!