New Delhi: Croatia wins the third-place match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 after beating Morocco. Morocco showed great defence but Croatia’s constant attacking gave them two goals. Mask man Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic scored and took a victory for their team.
This is the second third-place victory for Croatia in the World Cup while Morocco reached this feat for the first time.
Croatia has taken the games deep in knockouts and won against Japan and Brazil in penalties before losing 3-0 to Argentina. Their young masked defender Josko Gvardiol showed courage in front of Messi and shined in the game today. Luka Modric’s men gave a fine end to his World Cup journey.
Josko Gvardiol scored in the seventh minute while Morocco’s Achraf Dari equalised in the ninth minute. Both the goals were scored off free kicks.
Morocco, which was also the first-ever African team to be in the semis, has shown great grit in beating Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the knockouts. Morocco had its star goalkeeper Yassin Bounou, who conceded only one goal before facing France. The team has portrayed a fine performance and has a bright future in the tournaments ahead.
They’ve done a continent proud ??❤️ pic.twitter.com/4inOVLn7nz
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 14, 2022
The match begins at 8:30 pm IST at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Live Updates:
# Croatia takes home the bronze!
# Game goes into six minutes of extra time as Croatia moves closer to victory.
# Selim Amallah gets a yellow card.
?️#HRV #MAR | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/0KrclYqVwa
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022
# Morocco is on the attack now and has also appealed for a penalty.
# Azzedine Ouhani receives a yellow card.
# Multiple substitutions in place.
LM10 ?⚪️? pic.twitter.com/KBWZbMmeif
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022
# Kramaric receives treatment after going down due to an injury. Has to leave the field in tears.
# Another close attempt by Croatia and they get a corner.
# Half time: Croatia leads 2-1.
# 42′ Livaja’s assist and Mislav Orsic scores the second one for Croatia. Bournou stretched but could not reach. Score: 2-1
???????? ⚔️#HRV #MAR pic.twitter.com/mhJj7U33JM
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022
# Corner for Morocco and could have been a close one.
# Here’s an interesting trivia:
2018: ?? 2-0 ???????
2014: ?? 0-3 ??
2010: ?? 2-3 ??
2006: ?? 3-1 ??These 3rd place matchups are never short on goals ?⚽️ pic.twitter.com/h9FIBgemwH
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022
# Second attempt by Morocco as the ball flies past the post.
# Croatia has taken 6 attempts at the goal while Morocco has just one.
# Double saves from Yassin Bounou as Modric and the men continue to attack.
# Croatia is trying to breach Morocco’s defence and the African side is just too sharp with it.
# 9′ Achraf Dari scores his first international goal for Morocco and what a stage to do it. Dari shows alertness to convert the free kick.
# 7′ First Goal! Man in a mask, Josko Gvardiol does it for Croatia. Good use of the free kick, which went past the defence.
# A corner for Croatia and Morocco shows good defence.
# Match kicks off!
