Croatia v Morocco: Another draw looks likely in bronze battle
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World Cup 2022: Croatia v Morocco betting tips and odds
The World Cup final between Argentina and Croatia takes place on Sunday but 24 hours earlier Croatia and Morocco are involved in a battle for third place.
A 3-0 defeat by Argentina in Tuesday’s semi-final meant the Croats missed out on a second successive World Cup final, while Morocco’s incredible run in Qatar was ended by France a day later.
Morocco proved their run to the semi-finals was no fluke as they pushed defending champions France all the way in a 2-0 defeat.
Head coach Walid Regragui had hoped to reward the players that had claimed the scalps of Belgium, Spain and Portugal but that plan backfired even before kick-off when West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd, who had been struggling with a thigh injury, was replaced by Achraf Dari after the warm-up.
Skipper Romain Saiss then limped off 20 minutes into the match and is unavailable to face Croatia, but the north Africans still went toe-to-toe with Les Bleus during which they probably should have been awarded a penalty instead of a yellow card shown to Sofiane Boufal following a challenge by Theo Hernandez.
Hugo Lloris’ outstretched glove later prevented Jawad El Yamiq from levelling with a brilliant overhead kick as the tie remained in the balance heading to half-time.
There was much to like about their performances which saw them become the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, but they may well be feeling a bit flat after their defeat, just like Croatia, who were swept aside by an Argentina side inspired by Lionel Messi, who scored the opener from the spot and had a hand in both goals scored by Julian Alvarez.
With both teams probably exhausted from their semi-final exertions, it would be no surprise if both managers made changes for Saturday’s game.
The first game more than three weeks ago saw both sides have two shots on target, but the Atlas Lions struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities.
Another 0-0 draw does not lack appeal at 9/1, but instead we’ll go for a goalless opening 45 minutes at 33/20 which has been the case in half of Croatia’s matches at the World Cup. Draw HT/Draw FT can also be backed at 19/5.
The Tottenham winger already has a couple to his name from the 4-1 win against Canada and he will be keen to go out on a high before he returns to London.
Luka Modric could be playing at his last World Cup and has been boosted from 7/2 to 19/5 to score at any time, but he was taken off against Argentina with 10 minutes remaining, so cast your eyes over those line-ups before getting involved.
