Cape Town — Today is the game nobody wants to play. semi-finalists Croatia and Morocco will go head-to-head for the bronze medal in Saturday’s third place play-off.
FULL TIME: Croatia 2, Morocco 1
Croatia walk away with the bronze medal after their 2-1 third-place play-off win over Croatia on Saturday.
Croatia take the #FIFAWorldCup 3rd spot! 🇭🇷🥉@adidasfootball | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022
HALF TIME: Croatia 2, Morocco 1
Croatia take a 2-1 lead into the break of their third-place play-off against Morocco. Josko Gvardiol’s 6th minute strike was cancelled out in the 7th minute by Achraf Dani. Croatia then went ahead through a 42nd minute goal by Mislav Orsic.
Croatia hold the lead after the first half ⏸️#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022
UP NEXT: Croatia v Morocco
Luka Modric earns his 162nd cap as he starts for Croatia in Saturday's World Cup third-place play-off against Morocco at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic made five changes from the team beaten 3-0 by Argentina in the semi-finals, bringing Lovro Majer into the midfield in place of Marcelo Brozovic.
Lineups for #HRV and #MAR are in! 📝
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022
💭 Score Predictions? #FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
Hakim Ziyech captains Morocco, with Romain Saiss among the substitutes after injury forced him off early in the 2-0 semi-final loss to France.
Belgium-born teenager Bilal El Khannouss is handed his Morocco debut in midfield alongside Abdelhamid Sabiri. Yahya Attiat-Allah gets the nod at left-back in the absence of Noussair Mazraoui.
TEAMS:
Croatia (3-5-2): Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Sutalo; Mislav Orsic, Lovro Majer, Luka Modric (capt), Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic; Marko Livaja, Andrej Kramaric
Morocco (4-1-2-3): Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Achraf Dari, Jawad El Yamiq, Yahya Attiat-Allah; Sofyan Amrabat; Abdelhamid Sabiri, Bilal El Khannouss; Hakim Ziyech (capt), Youssef En Nesyri, Sofiane Boufal
KICK OFF: 5pm — Croatia v Morocco
The World Cup third/fourth place playoff between Croatia and Morocco promises to be a low scoring and physical one.
Both teams make up for their technical deficiencies by playing a high defensive line and this has helped them to surpass expectations at the World Cup. At the start of the tournament, not many would have given the duo a chance of advancing to the last four.
Should Walid Regragui's charges win the game, they will further make history as the first African side to finish third in the competition. The African side have already made history in the tournament by becoming the first African side to advance to the semi finals.
Croatia will have a chance to finish in the top four for the second consecutive World Cup after finishing as runners up to France four years ago in Russia.
The Croatians have already indicated that Luka Modric may not retire after the World Cup and may actually be part of their plans for Euro 2024. Modric, who was the Golden Ball winner in the 2018 World Cup has once again shone in the current World Cup.
Players to watch
For Croatia: All eyes will be on 2018 Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric as he tries to lead the World Cup runners up from Russia four years ago to a bronze medal.
For Morocco: While all talk has been about midfield dynamo Sofyan Amrabat, Yassine Bounou has been the hero for Morocco’s historical run to the semi-finals of the World Cup. The Montreal-born shotstopper has been so impressive in Qatar that several media outlets are linking him with a big money move to Bayern Munich as Manuel Neuer’s successor.
IOL Sport