Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 to finish their World Cup campaign as the third-placed side, equalling their efforts in 1998.
A few years ago, no one would have predicted them to finish in the top three in consecutive World Cups but when you see how they approach tournament football, you see why. They have developed into experts of knockout football and the blueprint that they have followed under Zlatko Dalic under the five years of his reign have paid dividends.
For the veteran midfield maestro Luka Modric, this was likely his last World Cup match and what a way to bow out. He has given so much to the beautiful game and all of his silverware may have come at club level but he will equally be remembered for his contributions on the international stage as well.
Although viewed as a pointless game, it certainly didn’t seem that way for Croatia and Morocco as they delivered one of the best end-to-end games of the entire tournament.
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You could tell how much of a privilege these two teams saw this opportunity to play one last time in Qatar as, and delivered an entertaining match. Morocco were still all fired up after making history by reaching the semi-finals, returning to Africa with third-place status would only have increased their already high status.
For Croatia, they were runners-up four-and-a-half years ago but what is admirable about this group is that no matter what the fixture they turn up as though it is a final. It is a testament to the work that Dalic has overseen with this team over the past five years. This match was likely the last dance at the World Cup for some of this group’s biggest stars including Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and possibly Andrej Kramaric.
Croatia struck first in the game with one of players of the tournament, defender Josko Gvardiol powering a header into the top corner after he latched onto a flick on by Perisic, with his stock continuing to rise after his incredible performances in Qatar. Morocco then went immediately down the other end and grabbed an equaliser with fellow defender Achraf Dari guiding a header past Dominik Livakovic.
Mislav Orsic put Croatia back in front at the end of the first half with a stunning first-time strike from the left side of the box that ricocheted in off the far post. Morocco didn’t give up and the entertainment continued into the second half with chances at either end, mainly in Croatia’s favour.
They were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty when Sofyan Amrabat pulled down Gvardiol in the box before Livakovic had to be alert to deny Yousef En-Nesyri as Morocco were able to counter. While Morocco applied pressure at the end to try and force extra time, Croatia held on for the victory.
