FIFA World Cup 2022: Croatia clinches third place after 2-1 win against Morocco

With a 2-1 victory over Morocco on Saturday, Croatia completed their World Cup run in Qatar on a positive note. Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic scored goals to give them the victory while Morocco's efforts were ineffective.

When the game first began, Croatia was in control and exerting pressure. With a pass that came dangerously close to the net, they nearly forced Yassine Bonou to send the ball into his own net.

After a well-executed free kick routine, the 2018 runners-up would later grab the lead in the seventh minute. When the ball was delivered into the box, Perisic headed it in the direction of a charging Gvardiol, whose shot beat Bonou and into the back of the net.

Shortly after taking the lead, Morocco equalized with a free kick of their own. In the ninth minute, Dari scored when Hakim Ziyech's whipped ball into the box bounced off Luka Modric and then into his path.

READ| WATCH: Achraf Dari scores instant equaliser after two minutes of Gvardiol's goal

Croatia had good ball possession after scoring the equalizer and continued to put pressure on the Moroccan defence. Prior to Modric's shot needing Bonou's intervention, the game did calm down a little. The Moroccan goalkeeper then swatted the ball away from Livaja to maintain parity.

The Atlas Lions then started to generate more opportunities and came quite close on a few occasions, including when Achraf nearly found El-Nesyri in the box with a beautiful ball. In the 37th minute, El-Nesyri again headed a corner ball across goal, but no one was able to get a piece of it as the Atlas Lions continued to press for the lead.

Orsic gave Croatia their advantage back in the 42nd minute, nearly against the flow of play. As the ball bounced off the post and into the goal, the Dinamo Zagreb attacker maneuvered into the box and perfectly timed his shot.

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In the 66th minute, both teams made two substitutions, with Morocco being obliged to remove Dari. They would suffer another injury, forcing the removal of El Yamiq, leaving them without any other defenders to call upon from the bench.

Gvardiol reached the penalty area and was knocked to the ground in the 73rd minute. To the ire of the Croatian box, the referee waved it off even though Amrabat had clipped him. After a few minutes, Livakovic made an outstanding one-on-one save to stop El-Nesyri and keep the lead. As Croatia finished another strong tournament run, the Atlas Lions had to settle for fourth.

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