Croatia saw off a spirited but exhausted Morocco to win 2-1 and seal a third-placed finish at the World Cup.
Zlatko Dalic’s side were torn apart by Lionel Messi and Argentina in the semi-finals, but looked more like their old selves today as they controlled the game and produced the lion’s share of the chances.
Morocco’s magic ran out during the semi-final defeat against France, and it looked like this could be another game too far for the Atlas Lions, who conceded after just six minutes when Josko Gvardiol headed home from an intricate set-piece routine.
Just two minutes later, however, Morocco levelled the scores with a goal truly in the spirit of how they have played throughout this World Cup. Having burst through the lines to put Croatia under pressure and win a free-kick, centre-back Achraf Dari was able to capitalise on the confusion in the opposition penalty area to head home from close range.
It was the perfect opening 10 minutes to a match many feared would have the feeling of a dead rubber, with both sides clearly intent on ending this World Cup on a high.
Both sides continued to cause each other problems as the half wore on, but it was Croatia who took the lead again shortly before half-time. Morocco failed to clear the ball after a Croatia attack and Marko Livaja was able to tee up Mislav Orsic, who curled a delightful finish past Yassine Bounou and in off the far post.
The second half lacked the pace and end-to-end excitement of the first, with Morocco succumbing to multiple injuries that forced Walid Regragui to move midfielder Sofyan Amrabat into central defence.
The biggest talking point came with 20 minutes to go, when referee Abdulrahman Ibrahim Al Jassim waved away shouts for a penalty after Gvardiol went down in the box.
Replays showed that the defender had indeed had his foot swept away by Amrabat, but bizarrely VAR opted against intervening.
Though Morocco kept pushing until the end, going close in the dying seconds through Youssef En-Nesyri, Croatia were able to hold on for a 2-1 win and take the prize of a third-place finish.
Though both sides will have been dreaming of reaching a coveted World Cup final, they did themselves proud today and made it a proper contest.
GK: Dominik Livakovic – 7/10 – Made a couple of good stops to cap off a fantastic tournament.
CB: Josip Stanisic – 7/10 – A very assured display from the defender, who has had an excellent World Cup.
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