Croatia defeated Morocco in a third-place playoff to finish their World Cup campaign by winning the Bronze medal at Khalifa International Stadium.
Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic scored for Croatia while Achraf Dari’s first international goal was the only one scored by Morocco on the night during the contest which finished 2-1.
Both Croatia and Morocco were hoping to be in tonight’s final but had to settle for a third-place match after losing to Argentina and France respectively in the semifinals.
Contrary to how both teams’ earlier games have gone, the match itself got off to a fairly fast start as Gvardiol, one of the standout defenders of the tournament, put his side ahead after just 7 minutes.
Croatia tried a similar routine as the one against Argentina but it paid off this time as Ivan Perisic headed the pass towards a dangerous area and Gvardiol bundled it past Yassine Bounou.
Their lead lasted just two minutes with a setpiece undoing their defence as well. A cross came off Lovro Majer’s head and looped into the box where an unmarked Dari beat the goalkeeper with a header.
Morocco’s goal changed the complexion of the game with the Atlas Lions bravely attacking their opponents but failing to put away several chances.
Their profligacy caught up with them in the 42nd minute when Orsic curled a shot past the outstretched arm of Yassine Bounou before going in off the post.
The second half lacked the same bite as the first one with exhausted players unable to keep up the pace.
Mateo Kovacic and Youssef En-Nesyri came close with headers for each team but the score remained the same.
