That was plenty of fun. Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic scored quite brilliant goals for Croatia either side of Achraf Dari’s equaliser. But poor Dari went down just before the half-time whistle and looks like he’s struggling.
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Another tremendous goal for Croatia!
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Now that’s what I’m talking about.
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This is an unbelievably good free-kick from Croatia.
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As you’d expect, both managers have made a number changes – five for Croatia, three for Morocco. Luka Modric stays in the team for what will almost certainly (I said almost) be his last World Cup game. A few of the injured Morocco players are named among the subs, including the captain Romain Saiss. Their starting XI includes the uncapped teenager Bilal El Khannouss.
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Croatia (possible 4-3-3) Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Gvardiol, Perisic; Majer, Modric, Kovacic; Orsic, Kramaric, Livaja.
Substitutes: Grbic, Ivusic, Barisic, Erlic, Lovren, Brozovic, Vlasic, Pasalic, Petkovic, Budimir, Sosa, Vida, Juranovic, Sucic, Jakic.
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Morocco (possible 4-3-3) Bono; Hakimi, Dari, El Yamiq, Attiat-Allah; Sabiri, Amrabat, El Khannouss; Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal.
Substitutes: Aguerd, Saiss, Ounahi, Hamdallah, Zaroury, Chair, El Kajoui, Aboukhlal, Amallah, Ezzalzouli, Cheddira, Tagnaouti, Benoun, Jabrane.
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Referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
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Hello and welcome to live coverage of the third-place playoff between Croatia and Morocco. To some, this is the most pointless game in world football; to others, it’s an essential part of the rhythm of the World Cup’s final week, a gentle little palate cleanser before the final.
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On this occasion, it’ll also be a celebration of the underdogs who have enriched Qatar 2022. Croatia and Morocco drew 0-0 in their opening game, managing only four shots on target between them; had you said, at the final whistle, that they would meet again in the bronze-medal match, you’d have been laughed out of the alehouse.
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On reflection, Croatia’s might have been the greater achievement. At times they have looked like a 2018 tribute act, minus a frontman, and it was a miracle of resilience that they lasted as long as they did. For a county of four million people to reach a final and a semi-final in successive World Cups is arguably – pound for pound, or rather person for person – the greatest achievement since Uruguay won it in 1950.
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Morocco, by contrast, looked like they still had plenty in the tank (the fit players, anyway) in their stirring defeat to France on Wednesday. It’s no exaggeration to say they have given us one of the great World Cup stories. This is a chance to celebrate them, and Croatia, and the greatest World Cup ever (sic), and anything else you fancy toasting on a Saturday afternoon.
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Kick off 3pm GMT, 4pm in Zagreb and Rabat, 6pm in Ar-Rayyan.
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Key events
71 min A dodgy ball from Amrabat goes straight to Vlasic, 40 yards out. He makes a beeline for goal and slashes a long-range drive over the bar. That’s Croatia’s 12th attempt on goal; Morocco, despite some bright attacking play, have had only three.
69 min Ounahi is booked for dissent.
68 min “FIFA should allow unlimited substitutions in consolation games,” says Peter Oh, “so that unused subs can get a run out on the big stage.”
I can’t think of anything more perfectly designed to tip a weary liveblogger over the edge at the end of a long tournament.
67 min Now Jawad El Yamiq is injured, which means Morocco are without five defenders. They have no more on the bench, so Selim Amallah comes on in El Yamiq’s place and the admirable Sofyan Amrabat drops into the defence.
66 min: Double change for Croatia Bruno Petkovic and Mario Pasalic replace Marko Livaja and Lovro Majer.
65 min Hakimi’s lofted cross is headed away well by Sutalo, under pressure from En-Nesyri.
64 min Two changes for Morocco. Sofiane Boufal and the limping Achraf Dari are replaced by Anass Zaroury, the Burnley youngster, and Badr Benoun.
62 min It sounds like Kramaric has a hamstring injury. His team, Hoffenheim, don’t return to Bundesliga action until 21 January so hopefully it won’t affect him too much.
61 min: Croatia substitution Nikola Vlasic replaces Andrej Kramaric, who is in tears as he walks off the field.
59 min Kramaric is struggling, having pulled something in the act of crossing. The interesting thing is that he was offside, but play continued because of the change in the law. And now look!
57 min This will go to extra-time and penalties if necessary. I know.
56 min: Morocco substitution Azzedine Ounahi, a team of the tournament staple, replaces the impressive teenager Bilal El Khannouss.
55 min Majer hits another wicked cross towards Livaja, who mistimes his volley and does himself a temporary mischief in the process. Majer has a left foot to die for.
53 min Kovacic is tackled just inside the Morocco area, with the ball running on towards Mayer near the byline. He draws Bono and lifts a short-range cross that is cleared.
52 min Boufal’s long pass is chested into the area by En-Nesyri, but Perisic tracks him all the way.
51 min A vicious cross from Majer on the left is shinned past the far post by one of the Moroccan defenders, El Yamiq I think. The referee wrongly gives a goalkick.
48 min Ziyech, who has moved into a more central position, finds Attiat-Allah in space on the left side of the area, but he can’t quite control the bouncing ball on the stretch.
47 min Orsic almost scores another belter. He cut inside from the left and thrashed a rising drive that took a slight deflection off El Yamiq and rippled the side netting at the near post.
46 min Peep peep! Morocco have made a half-time substitution: Ilias Chair has replaced Abdelhamid Sabiri.
The players are coming back out. And it looks like Achraf Dari is okay to continue.
Mislav Orsic only scores beautiful goals 💥
Unreal.
📺💻📱 Watch on @BBCOne, @BBCiPlayer and the BBC Sport app.#BBCWorldCup #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/UCeYHOAhMn
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 17, 2022
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“Seeing the goals and today’s play, one can only imagine what was possible if Dalić had been braver with the lineup,” says Tomislav Chagall. “Oh well.”
Half time: Croatia 2-1 Morocco
That was plenty of fun. Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic scored quite brilliant goals for Croatia either side of Achraf Dari’s equaliser. But poor Dari went down just before the half-time whistle and looks like he’s struggling.
45 min There will be two added minutes.
Mislav Orsic has restored Croatia’s lead. It looked like they had missed the chance by overplaying, but Kovacic won the ball back on the edge of the D and gave it to Livaja (I think). He flicked it outside to Orsic, who ran round the ball, on the left edge of the area, and floated an exquisite first-time shot across goal with his right foot. It beat the flying Bono, hit the inside of the far post and rebounded into the net.
GOAL! Croatia 2-1 Morocco (Orsic 42)
Another tremendous goal for Croatia!
40 min Ziyech shoots wide from 30 yards after twisting Modric one way and then the other. When he’s in the mood, Ziyech is just so much fun to watch. In fact, you picked a decent XI from this World Cup of players who aren’t regulars for their clubs.
37 min Ziyech’s wicked inswinging corner from the right is flicked right across the face of goal by En-Nesyri.
35 min Morocco are having a good spell. Ziyech whips a free-kick from the left towards the far post, where Perisic stretches to head clear. That was an important touch because there were a couple of unmarked Moroccan players behind him.
33 min Lovely play from Morocco. Boufal zips infield from the left, plays a one-two with the teenager El Khannouss and is about to shoot when the covering Sutalo knocks the ball off Boufal and behind for a goalkick. The Morocco players are fuming that a corner wasn’t given, but replays show the referee got it right.
31 min “Good morning from Pittsburgh!” says Eric Peterson. “I consider Belgium to be this recent era’s greatest underachievers – tons of individual talent that never reached its potential as a team – but this game makes me wonder how much fun it would be to go back in time one month and tell folks not only that Group F would provide both contestants in the third-place game, but that neither one would be Belgium. Talk about getting laughed out of the alehouse, huh?”
29 min Hakimi plays a gorgeous one-two with Ziyech on the right, surges into the area but then hits his cross behind En-Nesyri, who was waiting in front of an open goal at the far post. That was a real chance for Morocco.
28 min Croatia have been the dominant team, with six shots to Morocco’s one I think. Ultimately none of this matters – life, I mean, not the third-place playoff – but it’s enjoyable stuff.
