Croatia defeated Morocco Saturday. Thus, the African team’s historic run ended, and Croatia became the World Cup third place winner. Croatia scored at the seven-minute mark with Josko Gvardiol’s header. However, Moroccan Achraf Dari scored the equalizer after two minutes.
At the end of the first half, Croatia regained the lead thanks to a spectacular goal by Mislav Ori.
Morocco had historic few weeks in Qatar. It became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semifinals and finished in fourth place. Unfortunately, according to pay per head sportsbook reports, the team failed to find another equalizer.
World Cup Third Place Winner
After also placing third in 1998, Croatia has achieved their highest World Cup finish. Four years ago, in Russia, Croatia placed second.
The accomplishment of his squad was not lost on Croatia head coach Zlatko Dali after the game.
Dali was effusive in his appreciation for Croatia’s talismanic captain Luka Modri, 37, whose future with the national team is uncertain. According to bookie software experts, Dali hoped Modri would return for the squad’s Euro 2024 campaign.
It is the World Cup match nobody wants to play. When teams lose in the semifinals, their dreams of winning the tournament are destroyed, but they still have to play again just days later.
According to pay per head bookie solution experts, the will to win was clear from the start for two of the tournament’s biggest surprises, Croatia and Morocco.
Morocco aimed for a fitting last game of its historic run, while Croatia aimed to secure its second third-place finish in as many World Cups.
The defense was paramount from the start. After starting the competition with a scoreless draw, both teams scored within the opening 10 minutes at the Khalifa International Stadium.
