World Cup third place: Croatia 2-1 Morocco

Croatia opened the score and were quickly caught up by Morocco, before taking the lead again thanks to a marvelous kick by Mislav Orsic.

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45’+2

First half ended

Croatia got ahead with goals by Gvardiol and Orsic while Morocco’s goal was scored by Dari.
42′

A wonder goal by Croatia!

After a series of plays, the ball found Orsic and he scored with a marvelous curve from a tight angle.
40′

It’s Ziyech again with a shot from long distance, but it went wide.
35′

Morocco are having good attacks. Ziyech whipped a free kick in from the left towards the far post but Perisic cleared it.
29′

A fantastic play down the right flank by Ziyech and Hakimi, but one couldn’t catch Hakimi’s pass into the box.
24′

37-year-old Modric still got a few tricks up his sleeves. He dribbled and cut in from the left flank before curling it in. Bounou saved the shot and made another push to prevent a tap-in.
18′

Orsic’s shot was blocked by his own teammate Kramaric, who then headed straight at Bounou’s position. Croatia are increasing the pressure.
15′

The goalscorer Dari made a tackle to stop Livaja’s cross reaching Kramaric in front of goal. Great defending.

Morocco defender Achraf Dari (20) heads the ball against Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic (1). Photo by Reuters
10′

The clock didn’t even hit the 10th-minute mark but each team already had a goal, all from set pieces. Both teams are playing attacking football and giving the fans a great show.
9′

Morocco equalized!

Almost immediately after Croatia scored, Morocco got the proper response with Dari’s accurate header. Two goals in two minutes, the fans couldn’t ask for a better start.

Dari lies down with excitement after scoring for Morocco. Photo by Reuters

Croatia and Morocco made several changes to their starting lineups for their World Cup third-place playoff at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday, with both coaches giving opportunities to players benched during the tournament.

Morocco will miss skipper Romain Saiss who lasted only 21 minutes in the semi-final defeat by France before he was substituted.

Croatia skipper Luka Modric starts in midfield alongside Mateo Kovacic, but Marcelo Brozovic sits out with Lovro Majer coming in. Marko Livaja and Mislav Orsic start in attack.

Croatia: Dominik Livakovic, Josip Stanisic, Ivan Perisic, Lovro Majer, Mateo Kovacic, Andrej Kramaric, Luka Modric, Marko Livaja, Mislav Orsic, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Sutalo

Morocco: Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Abdelhamid Sabiri, Jawad El Yamiq, Sofyan Amrabat, Hakim Ziyech, Soufiane Boufal, Youssef En-Nesyri, Achraf Dari, Bilal El Khannouss, Yahya Attiat-Allah