Croatia 2 – 1 Morocco: Croatia does not get off the podium

The matches for third place are a thankless process, barely sweetened by the possibility of embellishing the list of winners. The Croatian and Moroccan players would surely have wanted to pack their bags after their painful defeats in the semi-finals, but they had to remain in Doha for a melancholic encounter. The coaches took the opportunity to make some changes in their respective eleven and Morocco noticed in the first half the absence of midfielder Ounahi, who started on the bench after having curdled an exhibition World Cup. At least Dalic, the Croatian coach, did not deprive the spectators of the presence of Modric, who at 37 years of age has played almost every minute in this World Cup and is in admirable physical condition, far superior to what his condition suggests. bird body.

With the bitterness of falling within a step of the final over, Croatia and Morocco got serious about the match for third place and sought victory without allowing themselves a breather. The match began with a few frantic minutes, in which the first two goals followed one another. The Croatian goal was a gift for the eyes, an exercise in geometry drawn with a compass and a pen. It started with a free kick taken by Majer, who placed a ball on Perisic’s head. The Tottenham player handed it to Gvardiol, who, also with a header, finished off neatly into Bono’s right corner of the goal. Morocco, as happened against France, did not crumple and went on the attack. After two minutes, the central Dari had put the tables on the scoreboard by finishing off, again with a header, a free kick from Ziyech that had hit the checkered defense.

In the first part there were alternatives and chances for both sides. Morocco proved to have dynamite on the right wing when Ziyech and Achraf connected and little by little they took over the game. However, it was the Croatians who ended up breaking the tie thanks to another elegant play. Marko Livaja, on the edge of the box, gave Orsic a ball and the Dinamo Zagreb midfielder looked up, surveyed Bono’s position and delicately adjusted a shot that might have been intended as a cross, but ended with the ball in the net after hitting the opposite post.

Morocco tried to put Croatia in trouble after the break and managed to create a chance. In Nesyri he had the tie in his boots, only against Livakovic, but the checkered goalkeeper filled all the available spaces and the Sevilla striker did not find a loophole through which to slip the ball. A little earlier, the most controversial play of the match had taken place, when Gvardiol fell in the Moroccan area after receiving a blow from Amrabat. The Qatari referee allowed the play to continue and his VAR colleagues, for some strange reason, did not consider it appropriate to bother him despite the fact that the images confirmed the contact.

The Atlas lions pushed until the end and once again En Nesyri was able to put the draw on the scoreboard, already in added time, but his header went wide by a few centimetres. The referee whistled the end and Modric smiled. He then went with his teammates to collect the bronze medal. Croatia ended the World Cup with the satisfaction of having exceeded expectations and having shown once again that old rockers never die.