FIFA World Cup 2022: Croatia beat Morocco to win bronze
Croatia beat Morocco 2-1 to finish third in the third place play-off at the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Saturday. Josko Gvardiol gave the 2018 World Cup finalists an early lead in the seventh minute. 'Achraf Dari equalized two minutes later. Mislav Orsic scored in the 42nd minute for Croatia which in the end turned out to be the winner. Here's more.
How did the match pan out?
Gvardiol gave Croatia the lead with a superb diving header but Dari leveled just two minutes late. Orsic curled in a superb second for Croatia before half-time. The second half did not match the energy of a gruelling first half and Morocco failed to find an equaliser. A fruitful campaign ended in back-to-back defeats for Morocco.
A look at the key match stats
Croatia had 12 attempts, managing for shots on target. Morocco managed nine attempts, with two shots being on target. Croatia edged past Morocco in terms of possession (51%) and had a pass accuracy of 84% to Morocco's 85%.
Key records for Croatia
As per Opta, among players with 1000+ minutes played at the FIFA World Cup this century, Marcelo Brozovic (7.5) and Luka Modric (7.3) are the two players who have averaged the most possession recoveries per 90. Croatia have only lost two of their 14 total matches across the last two FIFA WC tournaments (W6 D6), versus France and Argentina respectively.
Key records scripted in the match
Interestingly, the third place play-off at the FIFA World Cup has been won by an European team in each of the last 11 editions. Also, Morocco have now lost both their matches in Qatar where they dominated possession (versus France and Croatia).
Key records registered by both sides
As per Squawka, Sofyan Amrabat won possession 57 times at the 2022 World Cup. It's the most by any African player at a single tournament since 1966. Croatia have now finished third twice at the FIFA WC (also 1998), besides being second in 2018.
