December 17, (THEWILL) –Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 in the World Cup third-place game on Saturday, as Luka Modric concluded his World Cup career with the consolation gift of a bronze medal for Qatar 2022.
Following the disappointment of losing to Argentina in the semi-finals, the runners-up from four years ago in Russia, closed their campaign on a high, thanks to wonder goals from Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic, at the Khalifa International Stadium.
While Croatia will hope that Modric, their 37-year-old skipper, will continue playing enough to participate in the Euro 2024 campaign for their country, this was the Real Madrid midfielder’s final World Cup appearance.
Although Achraf Dari quickly tied the score for Morocco, Orsic’s spectacular goal just before halftime, ended up being the game-winning goal.
Dominik Livakovic denied Youssef En-Nesyri from close range, and by the time the game ended, Morocco had to settle for fourth, which is still a tremendous accomplishment because it is the best result an African team has ever achieved in this championship.
Meanwhile, Croatia matches their second-best World Cup result with the third-place finish, as a consolation for their captain, Modric.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.