Croatia defeated Morocco in the third place match at the World Cup held in Qatar. Morocco could not come back from the 2-1 score in a fun duel where both sides had a chance.
For the third place match, there were two physically stressed teams on the pitch, Morocco and Croatia. In Morocco, which played a very intense match in this tournament, many players were injured in the semi-final match played against France.
Croatia had completed two overtime periods before being eliminated by Argentina. Both teams brought in new players.
Exciting start
A turbulent initial phase has developed where the game has its ups and downs and luck for both sides. A well-rehearsed free kick – perhaps as impressive as the shot in front of Wout Weghorst’s goal – made Croatia 1-0. Josko Gvardiol sat on the target after this nice preparatory work.
It certainly didn’t take long for a response from Morocco. Defender Achraf Dari headbutted goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic after a free kick from Hakim Ziyech.
After that, things went up and down with Croatia on the slightly stronger side. Ziyech came out with a nice dribbling, but his shot was too soft. Shortly before the first half, the Croats took the shot: Mislav Orsic swung the ball well over the post over the helpless goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
After the break, Morocco sought 2:2 of course, but also lost the gap. It was Croatia that became dangerous several times because of this. Orsic’s shot narrowly went out and went into the side nets.
Morocco also threatened from time to time. Although Achraf Hakimi seemed to have won a penalty in the 73rd minute, Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim decided otherwise. He also hadn’t given Gvardiol a sentence recently, which seems to have been kidnapped by Sofyan Amrabat.
Morocco did their best in the closing stages, but didn’t have the strength to force another goal. Youssef En-Nesyri immediately headed there.
This is how Walid Regragui’s team finished the magnificent world championship in fourth place. Bronze is for Luka Modric et al.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
