Croatia and Morocco will do battle for one last time as they fight for third and fourth place finish at the World Cup when they meet at the Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Blazers will come into this fixture after they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Argentina through a brace by Julián Álvarez and a goal by star Lionel Messi at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail.
The Atlas Lions, meanwhile, will be hoping to redeem themselves after they conceded a 2-0 defeat to defending champions France after they conceded goals by Theo Hernández and substitute Randal Kolo Muani at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui: “We gave our all, that’s the most important thing. The boys fought until the last minute.
“If I have any regrets about this game, it would be mainly conceding that goal quickly — it gave the French team even more certainty to stick with their approach.
“We said that if they gave us the ball, we would take it. We did that but we made too many technical mistakes in the first half.
“In the second half we were smarter, we gave away fewer balls and we caused them problems, creating a lot of opportunities but we weren’t decisive in that final 30 metres.
“We wanted to get a goal and give them some doubts. But with their attacking talents, we knew we could be punished at any moment and that’s what happened with the second goal.
“We gave the maximum, that’s the most important thing. The most important thing is to have given a good image, to have shown the world that Moroccan football exists and that we have beautiful supporters.
“To reach the very, very highest level, to win a World Cup, we still have to work but we are not very far away.”
Croatia and Morocco have only ever met once before when they played out to a goalless draw in their Group F encounter at the Al Bayt Stadium on 23 November 2022.
Zlatko Dalic is only expected to be without the services of Marcelo Brozovic for the clash, while Walid Regragui will continue to be without Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui for their final World Cup match.
Luka Modric has been brilliant for Croatia throughout the tournament and would most likely look to end the tournament on a high by capping it off with a goal, having only assisted one goal in six appearances.
Achraf Hakimi has been an influential figure for Morocco and will be looking to once again produce a stellar performance as he looks to help his side secure third place in the tournament.
Croatia’s World Cup Form:
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Morocco’s World Cup Form:
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