Croatia vs Morocco: Losing semi-finalists look to sign off with 2022 FIFA World Cup podium
The third-place play-off at the 2022 FIFA World Cup is as always a bittersweet moment for its participants. Both Croatia and Morocco would have much preferred to be in Sunday’s final, but they will be at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan a day prior to decide who takes the third place at Qatar 2022.
But do not mistake the penultimate fixture of a thrilling World Cup for a dead rubber. Claiming the final step on the podium will be top of the agenda for both Croatia and Morocco as they look to brush aside the disappointment of semi-final defeats to Argentina and France respectively.
Croatia, the finalists in 2018, were blanked 3-0 by a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina in their last four clash while Morocco’s fairytale run, that earned them the distinction of being the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, was ended by a 2-0 defeat to defending champions France.
“We would like things to have gone differently and played in the final. There is another game to play, we would like to be on the podium,” said Morocco head coach Walid Regragui.
“I understand it’s important to finish third rather than fourth, but my takeaway is we didn’t reach the final. We wanted to play the final on Sunday, not play [on Saturday].”
Morocco, who had only won two World Cup matches before the 2022 tournament, had topped Group F with wins over Belgium and Canada before knocking out former world champions Spain and Portugal on their way to the semi-final.
“Morocco played six World Cup games in 20-odd years and now we’ve played six games in a month – this is priceless. It’s as if we played two World Cups or even more, that’s beautiful from an experience point of view,” Regragui said.
Croatia, on the other hand, will be looking to give a memorable farewell to their talisman Luka Modric who will most likely play the final World Cup game of his career and the 37-year-old Ballon d’Or recipient reiterated the importance of Saturday’s fixture.
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“We need to leave everything to win the bronze medal and let our fans celebrate one more time,” Modric said ahead of the game. And Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic echoed the sentiments of his captain.
“Saturday’s match is not a small one for us, but a big final, a fight for third place, for a medal,” said Dalic who has seen his side beat both Japan and Brazil on penalty shootouts in the knockout stages.
“We have to prepare in every sense. It’s a big thing if we take the bronze medal, that would be great. The difference is being third or fourth in the world, we will do everything to do that,” he said.
The two sides have already met in the World Cup as they played out a goalless draw in Group F that Morocco topped eventually. “There was a lot of hesitation for the first game. Both teams will want to win [on Saturday] and it will be a great game,” said Regragui.
Morocco fans, we’ll be seeing you again soon! 👋 🇲🇦 #ClubWC pic.twitter.com/Hh691k4HQ6
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 16, 2022
Dalic is likely not to risk Marcelo Brozovic and young centre-back Josko Gvardiol due to fitness issues for the third-place play-off while the Atlas Lions have their impressive trio of Nayef Aguerd, Noussair Mazraoui and Romain Saiss remain a doubt for the clash.
“We have really, really pushed our players to the limits, but they still want to go out [on Saturday] and play again. But we are not going to be taking risks for some of our players,” said Moroccan tactician Regragui as his side looks to round off an excellent campaign with a medal around their necks.
Read more: World Cup column: Argentina embrace the emotion to secure Messi’s date with destiny
