Croatia vs Morocco: Can Morocco seize chance to win historic prize?
Morocco will have a chance to claim a historic prize when they take on Croatia in the third-place match on Saturday. Although this game is merely a appetizer of sorts for the much anticipated final on Sunday, for the Atlas Lions, it presents a great opportunity for them to conclude their World Cup journey with some consolation.
The North African side have already written their name in the history books by becoming the first team from Africa to successfully book their spot in the semi-finals at a World Cup. Along the way, Walid Regragui’s side had beaten Belgium, Spain, and Portugal and came into their Wednesday evening match against France having conceded just one goal. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for the ambitious team, who were outplayed and outclassed as the reigning champions overpowered them to secure a 2-0 victory.
While the loss will certainly be painful, Morocco still are expected to put on a good performance this weekend. After all, this competition has seen some lopsided matches, including Portugal’s 6-1 mauling of Switzerland and Brazil’s easy 4-1 win over South Korea. Morocco clearly were determined not to allow themselves to be beaten in such a humiliating fashion, and although they were not able to clear this major hurdle to feature in this year’s final, they will have a great chance to clinch some silverware when they face Croatia on Saturday.
Indeed, having already held the Vatreni to a scoreless stalemate en route to topping their quartet, Morocco should rightfully feel confident in their chances at beating Croatia. The Vatreni were second best for much of their game against Argentina, conceding three goals in a match that could have been a lot worse had Argentina been able to convert more of their chances. It appears that having had to play back to back matches that went to extra time and spot-kicks had a huge impact on Zlatko Dalic’s side, and defeating the 2021 Copa America winners spearheaded by a very in form Lionel Messi was simply a bridge too far for the 2018 World Cup finalists, who were hoping to go one step further and get their hands on the coveted prize this year.
At the start of this competition, many were quick to write the Atlas Lions off, claiming that they would be “lucky” to get out of a group alongside Croatia and Belgium. Well, they not only handed Belgium a 2-0 win, thus showing that the Red Devils are a highly overrated side, but conceded just one goal – an own goal – as they topped their quartet unbeaten. They pushed Spain all the way to penalties, all while not conceding in regular time, and held on to a narrow 1-0 win to dump EURO 2016 winners Portugal out of this tournament.
Hence, on Saturday, as the Atlas Lions prepare to take to the pitch for the final time at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they can be certainly proud of their achievements. For not only have they surpassed expectations, but this team, and their manager has written their name in the history books. Their performance at this year’s World Cup will be something people will be talking about for years to come.
The question is: Do they have it in them to roar to victory on Saturday and pick up what would be a well-deserved medal for their efforts this year in Qatar?
