Qatar 2022: Morocco Ends Fourth

The Moroccan team established themselves as fourth in the World Cupup; a first for an African country by making the continent dream. Croatia, however, came back on the podium after their second place finish in 2018.

As in 1998, Croatia won the smaller final. The Croats beat Morocco 2-1 and finished in third place at the 2022 World Cup. The first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final, Morocco finished fourth.

It was in the first period that everything was decided. From the 7th minute of play, Joskvo Gvardiol opened the scoring. After a splendid combination from a free kick and a header from Ivan Perisic, the Croatian defender placed an unstoppable diving header in the net. The happiness of Zlatko Dalic’s men was only short-lived. Less than two minutes later, Achraf Dari equalized, also from a free kick, with a header, taking advantage of a moment of hesitation in the Croatian defense (1-1, 9th).

Both teams took turns after taking the lead. Yassine Bounou denied Andrej Kramaric (18th) and Luka Modric (24th), while Youssef En-Nesyri missed the target on a cross from Hakim Ziyech (37th). It was finally on a magnificent strike from Mislav Orsic that Croatia definitively took the lead (2-1, 42nd).

In a second half plagued by injuries on both sides (Andrej Kramaric on the hour mark, Achraf Dari and Jawad El-Yamiq a little later), both teams struggled to develop their game. Orsic’s strike was deflected at the very beginning of the second period. Then, there was almost nothing for thirty minutes except for the intervention of Livakovic in front of En-Nesyri, in the wake of a foul on Gvardiol in the Moroccan area, which could have given a penalty to the Croats (75th). Three minutes from the end, Mateo Kovacic almost killed the game: his shot missed the Moroccan goal. On a final cross, Youssef En-Nesyri almost sent the two teams into extra time after a header that flirted with the Croatian crossbar.