Dort, where the quick German end began, Croatia celebrated a happy end to the soccer World Cup. Three and a half weeks after the selection of national coach Hansi Flick in the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha lost their World Cup opener with 1: 2 goals against Japan and initiated the early end after the preliminary round themselves, Zlatko Dalić’s Croatian team won against on Saturday evening Surprise team Morocco won the third place match in Qatar 2-1. After losing the final in 2018, Croatia finished third, just like they did in the 1998 tournament.
Leipzig defender Joško Gvardiol (7th minute) with a remarkable header and attacker Mislav Oršić from Dinamo Zagreb (42nd) with an even more remarkable flick scored the goals for the Croatians on the eve of the final between Argentina and France (4:00 p.m. CET in the FAZ -Live ticker for the World Cup, on ARD and on MagentaTV). The interim quick equalizer by Achraf Dari (9th) was not enough for Morocco to end the tournament victoriously.
“We won bronze, but the medal glitters like gold for us,” said Croatia coach Dalić after the game. “Tonight is the most emotional moment of the World Cup for us, that’s what we train and live for. It’s the end of a journey. Is this also the end of this generation? I do not think so. Croatia doesn’t have to be afraid of the future,” continued Dalić.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui commented: “We gave our all but the engine broke. Of course we are disappointed, but when we wake up tomorrow we realize that we have achieved something fantastic.” And further: “We have shown that we work hard in Africa and that we have a great future ahead of us. Our goal is to win the World Cup one day.”
It is one of the unloved World Cup traditions that the losers of the semi-finals have to stay for a few more days and play a game. But it’s also a nice thing when you don’t end the tournament like the other teams with a defeat or an early exit. And the Moroccan fans left no doubt that they wanted to end their dream journey through the World Cup, which also included a disappointment with the 0-2 semi-final defeat by France, with a win. The numerous red-green supporters made a lot of noise in the stands.
On the pitch, however, their goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, known as Bono, caused a fright. He wanted to direct a back pass to a teammate, but didn’t hit the ball properly. It rolled dangerously parallel to the goal line, but luckily for the Moroccans it didn’t touch the inside post, so the damage from a corner kick was minimal (3′).
Four minutes later, the next goal approach didn’t end so lightly. Lovro Majer free-kicked the ball into the penalty area, which Ivan Perišić headed off. Gvardiol flew in and took the lead with a precise headbutt.
Trouble after the end of the game: Moroccan players approach the referees.
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Image: AP
It wasn’t long before the Moroccans cheered even louder than the few fans from Croatia. A free-kick from Hakim Ziyech was extended by the Croatian Majer, goalkeeper Dominik Livaković stayed on his goal line and consequently had no chance to stop Dari’s header from close range.
After Croatia’s superiority at the beginning, the game became more balanced without any big chances, but with a few small chances, for example when Luka Modrić’s shot was blocked by Bono (24′) or when Achraf Hakimi’s cross found no taker on the other end (29′).
