AS THE WORLD CUP DREAM CAME TO AN END, CROATIA AND MOROCCO WILL FACE OFF FOR BRONZE ON SATURDAY
As Both Croatia and Morocco are recovering from their World Cup semifinal losses, and they will look forward to facing each other in the third-place playoff on Saturday. The semifinals proved too much for Croatia and Morocco, who defied pre-tournament odds to reach the semifinals. As the first African team to reach the final four of football's showpiece event, Walid Regragui's fearless squad rewrote history along the way. Despite the result, they will be welcomed home as heroes, not only earning the respect of the continent but also finding a place in the hearts of neutral fans who appreciate a good underdog story.
After a 0-0 draw in their group opener, Croatia and Morocco will face off in Qatar again, just as Belgium and England faced off in the group stage and third-place playoff in 2018. Mentally, it will be challenging. As far as the players who did not play will be concerned, I will give them an opportunity and we will try to achieve third place," said Regragui.
For Croatia, reaching a second consecutive final seemed unlikely when it won just one group game in 2018. "Moroccan football deserves to be at the top and we represented our team well." For Croatia, reaching another final seemed unlikely with just one group game in 2018. Nevertheless, after two penalty shootout victories over Japan and Brazil, the team advanced to the semifinals, where Lionel Messi, in superb form, destroyed the hosts. The majority of us would have accepted making the semifinals before the tournament had even begun if we had been realistic. However, the dream of the trophy grew stronger," Croatia midfielder Lovro Majer said. It was missed opportunity for Croatia to crown their golden generation of players, with coach Zlatko Dalic confirming that most will not participate in the next World Cup. According to Dalic, the players should keep their heads up, be proud of what they have accomplished, and be prepared to fight for third place. No blame can be placed on our guys; I congratulate them for their efforts at this World Cup. The next step is to get up, dust ourselves off, and try to win the bronze."
