The final weekend of action at the FIFA World Cup opens with the third-place playoff between Croatia and Morocco on Saturday. Both teams need to overcome their semifinals disappointment to get fired up for one more game.
The battle for bronze is typically a high-scoring affair at the World Cup and bookmaker William Hill has the odds at 1.91 for over 2.5 goals in the contest. The odds are at 3.25 for over 3.5 goals.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: December 16th, 8:30 A.M. (EST)
It’s the second head-to-head meeting for the two in Qatar after they played out a 0-0 draw in the first round of Group F action. Both did well to limit each other’s chances and went on to have a great tournament defensively. Opposing teams couldn’t even score a single goal against Morocco before France took them down 2-0 in the semifinals.
It’s been a very impressive tournament by the Atlas Lions, who have battled through fatigue and various injuries to finish inside the top four. They might not get this far ever again so Walid Regragui’s group should remain highly motivated Saturday.
It’s a different story with Croatia’s motivation. After getting through to the final four years ago, finishing with the third-place playoff will be disappointing for the team even if it’s still an impressive feat, considering the size of Croatia and how multiple heavy hitters failed to get this far.
Zlatko Dalic has done a wonderful job leading the team and that’s now four strong performances on the bounce for Croatia at major tournaments. With a bit more quality and luck, who knows how things would’ve worked out as Croatia have lost only two of their last nine knockout stage games in 90 minutes at tournaments.
Saturday will likely mark the final World Cup appearance for the team’s veteran stars, and Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic should be aiming to go out on a high. Modric has had a fairly quiet tournament and should look to play an active role all game against Morocco, while Perisic has been involved in half of the team’s six goals and will hope to do some more damage.
It’s the third-ever meeting for the two nations. Before going head-to-head last month, there was also a 2-2 draw between them in 1996. Overall, Croatia have a very good record against the African sides, recording four wins and only one loss in eight games. Another positive result would be a good sendoff for Modric and Perisic.
