In the third-place playoff on Saturday at the Khalifa International Stadium, a World Cup 2022 bronze medal is on the line between Croatia and Morocco, and neither team should turn their back on a podium finish on the biggest platform.
Argentina defeated Zlatko Dalic's team 3-0 in their semifinal match, while the Atlas Lions battled bravely against France but were defeated by two goals to nil.
Prior to his egregious humiliation of a player half his age, Messi scored Argentina's first goal from the penalty spot in their semifinal match against Croatia. Julian Alvarez then scored Argentina's second goal, though it came with a bit of luck after a few ricochets.
It wasn't by chance that Argentina scored its third goal. Messi turned back the clock on the right side before finding Alvarez, who tapped in Argentina's third goal and prevented Croatia from competing in two World Cup finals in a row – against 2018 rivals France, no less.
Without winning a knockout game in regular time, Dalic's team miraculously advanced to the 2018 final and the 2022 semifinals. They are also no strangers to bronze medal contests, having defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in the 1998 third-place playoff during their first World Cup campaign.
Match Details
Croatia vs Morocco- FIFA World Cup (Third Place Play-Off)
Date And Time: 17th December, 08:30 pm IST
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar
Morocco vs Croatia- Dream11 prediction
Goalkeeper: Livakovic
Defenders: Gvardiol, Saiss, Mazraoui, Hakimi
Midfielders: Modric, Amrabat, Kovacic
Forwards: Perisic, Ziyech, Boufal
Morocco vs Croatia- My Dream11 team
Livakovic, Gvardiol, Hakimi (VC), Mazraoui, Modric, Perisic, Kovacic, Ziyech, Amrabat, Kramaric, En-Nesyri (VC)
Predicted playing XI
Croatia: Livakovic, Juranovic, Lovren, Sutalo, Sosa; Modric, Jakic, Kovacic, Vlasic, Kramaric, Perisic
Morocco: Bono, Hakimi, El-Yamiq, Dari, Attiyat-Allah, Ounahi, Amrabat, Amallah, Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal
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