The confrontation for third place in World Cups has always provoked the discussion of its real need, since the teams that dispute it come from defeats in the semifinals and, many times, the players go to the field without the usual spirit. But the duel between Morocco and Croatia, at 12h (Brasília time) this Saturday (17), in Qatar, should be different.
The two nations arrive at the match with plenty of reasons to give the fans a great show at the Khalifa Internacional stadium, in Doha.
On the Croatian side, the great incentive is to provide the midfielder and captain Luka Modric with the opportunity to end his last Cup again on the podium, after the runner-up in the World Cup in Russia, in 2018.
At the age of 37, the star, elected best player in the world by FIFA in 2018, has not yet announced whether he will retire from the national team, but his coach, Zlatko Dalic, hopes to convince him to continue until Euro 2024, in Germany.
“I hope he will be there. I really think he will be there. Luka will decide for himself, depending on where he is in football, in the national team. Of course, it’s his decision alone,” said Dalic, a day after the defeat. to Argentina in the semifinals, on Wednesday (14).
“It will be a shame for all the fans in the world if Luka says goodbye to the national team. He played such good football and showed that he is a top professional. It is difficult for him. and for me too, if he decides not to continue,” he added. .
The will shown by Modric throughout the World Cup is also seen by the Moroccan coach, Walid Regragui, as one of the obstacles for his team to finish third in Qatar.
“Hats off to Modric. What he is doing at the age of 37 is monumental. He won the Ballon d’Or and I fully understand why,” said the captain. “I don’t know if it’s Modric’s last game, he is a competitive warrior and will want to end his World Cup in style. When he wants to end in style, you have to be cautious.”
Already with a historic result, for being the first African and Arabic-speaking country to reach the semifinals of the World Cup, Morocco also demonstrates a lot of hunger to win the last duel and finish in third place.
Regragui says he and his players would like to play their historic seventh World Cup game on Sunday, in the final, but recognizes that finishing third is also very important for the country’s football, which would make the fans proud.
“Morocco has played six World Cup matches in 20 years and now we play six matches in a month, that’s priceless. It’s like we’ve played two World Cups or even more, that’s beautiful from an experience point of view” , highlighted the coach.
Both Dalic and Regragui expect a close confrontation this Saturday. Much more than the group stage, when they drew without goals and, in the end, the two went on to the round of 16, eliminating the hitherto favorites Belgium and Canada.
“It will be a more difficult opponent than in the first phase. They are not afraid of anyone. It will be a difficult match. Morocco is the big surprise of this World Cup”, said Dalic.
“There was a lot of hesitation for the first game… Both teams will want to win (Saturday) and it will be a great game,” agreed the Moroccan.
Despite being disputing the third position in the Qatar Cup, Croatia and Morocco had very different performances during the tournament. The Europeans won just one match in regulation time, 4-1 in Canada, in the group stage. The other two were goalless draws with Morocco and Belgium.
In the round of 16, a new draw (1-1) with Japan and a 3-1 victory on penalties. In the quarterfinals, the big surprise when holding Brazil in normal time, drawing 1-1 in extra time and winning on penalties by 4-2. And the defeat by 3-0 to Argentina in the semifinal.
The African rival, on the other hand, showed more strength in the attack from the beginning, when they defeated Belgium (2 to 0) and Canada (2 to 1) and tied with the Croatians. Afterwards, they drew 0-0 with Spain in normal time and won the penalty shoot-out 3-0, eliminating one of the favorites for the title. In the quarterfinals, another important victory: 1 to 0 over Portugal, by Cristiano Ronaldo. And the 2-0 defeat by France in the semi-final, which led to the reunion with Croatia.
Regarding the teams, the two coaches will have to make changes to the group that starts playing. Regragui ruled out the presence of captain Romain Saiss, who has a thigh injury, similar to that of defenders Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui and striker Youssef En-Nesyri.
Dalic, on the other hand, should not have one of his main midfield players, Marcelo Brozovic, who had to leave the game against Argentina in the 50th minute with a muscle contracture. If he really can’t play, Lovro Majer should be the substitute. Another absence should be right-back Josip Juranovic, who also suffered a muscle injury and could be replaced by Stanisic, who has yet to play in Qatar.
Thus, whether the game will be decided in normal time, in overtime or on penalties, we will only know later, but what is certain is that the fan must have good reasons to stay tuned on the pitch, as the two teams are ready to put on a show.
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