After each matchday of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Sportsnet.ca’s World Cup Daily blog will recap the day’s events and look ahead to the next day’s slate of games.
Here’s what happened on Saturday in Qatar, in case you missed it…
THE RESULTS
Croatia 2, Morocco 1 in All Rayyan: Match report || Match stats
MAIN TALKING POINT
Croatia, Morocco put on a show in 3rd-place match
The third-place match at the FIFA World Cup has received a bad rap ever since it was first played at the 1934 tournament Italy. A recent online editorial by the Qatar-based media agency Al Jazeera went so far as to ask why do we even have a third-place playoff at the World Cup? “It’s the game that no one wants to play in, it’s the game few may even want to watch… Playing for third? Why bother? The dream is over, the trophy is beyond reach,” James Brownsell wrote.
Croatia and Morocco showed on Saturday why this match should continue to take place, combining to put on an entertaining spectacle before an appreciative crowd of 44,137 spectators at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan. A 2-1 win by Croatia sealed the country’s third top-three finish at the World Cup since 1998, while Morocco capped off a brilliant run that saw the Atlas Lions become the first African nation to reach the final four of the tournament.
Try telling Croatia that the third-place game doesn’t matter. Try telling Luka Modrić, a former Ballon d’Or winner who was playing in his fourth and final World Cup, that Saturday’s contest, which might’ve been his last at international level, was a giant waste of time. Explain to Morocco, who furiously pressed for an equalizer as they had Croatia on the ropes during the second half, that they needn’t have bothered.
There’s no question that this game serves as only an appetizer before Sunday’s main course when Argentina clashes with France in the final. But the third-place playoff is an important part of the history and tradition of the World Cup. It’s in this game where legends such as Davor Šuker (in 1998) and Salvatore Schillaci (in 1990) clinched the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer.
More importantly, the third-place match matters and has value because it is a chance to celebrate and recognize those who fell achingly short of climbing sports’ highest summit.
GOAL OF THE DAY
It took Croatia only seven minutes to open the scoring off a clever, well-worked set piece. Luka Modrić did a fake stepover before teammate Lovro Majer elegantly curled a free kick from 30 yards out over Morocco’s defensive wall and into the box. Ivan Perišić ran away from goal to connect on a glancing header, sending the ball towards the middle of the penalty area for Joško Gvardiol to connect on a beautiful, diving header that nestled inside the post from 12 yards out.
MOMENT OF THE DAY
SIX PACK OF STATS
• At age 37, Croatia’s Luka Modrić is the oldest player to feature in seven games at a single men’s World Cup tournament.
• Before this game, Croatia had kept a clean sheet in all three of its previous World Cup matches against African sides, beating Cameroon 4-0 in 2014, Nigeria 2-0 in 2018, and drawing 0-0 with Morocco in the group stage this year.
• Only Lionel Messi has been directly involved in more World Cup goals (16) than Croatia’s Ivan Perišić across the last three men’s tournaments (11 – six goals, five assists).
• Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi played in their 10th World Cup games on Saturday, equalling Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al-Daeyea as the Arab players with the most appearances in the competition.
• Bilal El Khannous is the youngest-ever starter for Morocco at the World Cup (18 years and 221 days), breaking the previous record set by Achraf Hakimi in 2018 (19 years and 223 days).
• Croatia has only lost two of its 14 total matches across the last two World Cups (with six wins and six draws): versus France in the 2018 final and Argentina in this year’s semifinal.
Stats courtesy of Opta
THREE STARS OF THE DAY
1) Mislav Oršić (Croatia): The Dinamo Zagreb attacker scored his second goal in 27 caps for his country with a gorgeous shot in the 42nd minute to seal Croatia’s third-place finish.
2) Mateo Kovačić (Croatia): It was another masterclass effort from the midfield dynamo, as the Chelsea star registered a game-high six tackles and had one shot.
3) Achraf Hakimi (Morocco): The PSG fullback was a constant attacking menace down the right side, completing 82.4 of his passes while also making four tackles.
LOOKING AHEAD TO SUNDAY
After a month of drama and spectacle, the 2022 FIFA World Cup draws to a close with Sunday’s final between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium (10:00 a.m. ET).
For Argentina, it’s a chance to win a third title. For Lionel Messi, it’s one last opportunity to win the World Cup after coming up short in his four previous tournaments. For France, it can become only the third nation to repeat as champions at a men’s World Cup, and the first since Brazil won back-to-back tournaments in 1958 and 1962.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 25 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.