2022 FIFA World Cup
Third place playoff
Croatia v Morocco
Khalifa International Stadium
Al Rayyan, Qatar
Saturday, 17 December 2022
Kick-off is at 17h00 CAT
Morocco will look to finish their
2022 World Cup campaign on a positive note when they face Croatia in the third place playoff on Saturday, December 17.
Walid Regragui's side saw their historic run in the tournament come to an end on Wednesday when they lost 2-0 to defending champions France in the semi-finals.
The Atlas Lions had made World Cup history as the first African and Arab nation to reach the semi-finals and they captured the hearts of many football fans along the way.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Morocco had conceded just one goal in their opening five matches but Les Bleus breached their defence twice at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, with Theo Hernandez opening the scoring after just five minutes before Randal Kolo Muani sealed the win on 79 minutes.
Regragui believes their performances in Qatar shows the North Africans can challenge the world's best and he intends to give 2018 runners-up Croatia a run for their money in what is a rematch of their Group F opener.
"It will be difficult on the mental level. I will give opportunities to those who did not participate, and we will try to clinch the third place," he said.
"The important thing is that we presented a good look to our team, and that football in Morocco is not far from the top levels."
The Vatreni saw their dream of appearing in back-to-back finals dashed by Argentina, who ran out convincing 3-0 victors on Tuesday to maintain their record of having every semi-final they've contested at the global showpiece.
Zlatko Dalic's men, like the Moroccans, had been undefeated in Qatar prior to their clash with the Copa America champions, who took the lead against the run of play through Lionel Messi's 34th-minute penalty to knock the wind out of Croatia's sails.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Julian Alvarez (39') quickly doubled La Albiceleste's lead before the Manchester City forward struck again on 69 minutes to seal the victory.
Dalic admits Croatian football has seen the end of another golden generation, who featured in two successive World Cup semi-finals and came to close to glory in Russia four years ago.
"Perhaps this is the end of the generation of the World Cups, a couple have reached an age and have to see what happens in 2026," he said.
"We have had a great team and this generation will finish off their career at Euro 2024. We have the National League and an excellent generation who reached two semi-finals."
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 2
Croatia - 1
Morocco - 0
Draws - 1
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