Football
World Cup 2022: Croatia Beats Morocco to Secure Third-Place Finish
by privatebet.com - 2022/12/18
The World Cup 2022 is nearing its final stage, and the penultimate match took place on Saturday between Croatia and Morocco. Croatia destroyed Morocco’s hopes to become the first African nation to end in the top three, after securing a third-place finish with a 2-1 victory. The match between the two nations kicked off with an explosive first ten minutes and the result was already 1-1 by that time. Josko Gvardiol gave Croatia a well-deserved lead just seven minutes into the game, but Achraf Dari evened out the score with a goal for Morocco just two minutes later. Croatia cemented their domination with Mislav Orsic’s goal three minutes before half-time, and Morocco struggled to make a comeback after that. The third-place finish is somewhat of a downgrade for Croatia since they finished second at the World Cup 2018, but coach Zlatko Dalic couldn’t be prouder of their achievement. "We won the bronze medal and it has a golden layer, it is like we have won the gold medal tonight. Fighting for the third-place play-off and losing would have been a disaster. This is the end of a cycle, the end of a journey. My players spared no efforts and these are what we work for," said Dalic post-match. The World Cup 2022 final will be played tonight at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, with Argentina and France competing for the trophy.