Croatia vs Morocco preview & prediction

Match preview

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 zero.

Only a select few attackers have defeated RB Leipzig’s youth Josko Gvardiol in a face-off, but even one of the most in-demand defenders in Europe couldn’t stand a chance against a 35-year-old Lionel Messi.

Argentina’s victory in the semifinals prevented Croatia from competing in two World Cup finals in a row, not to mention against 2018 rivals France.

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.

Morocco, the first African nation to play in a World Cup semifinal, could have made history by becoming the first team from the continent to advance all the way to the championship game, but for a lack of killer instinct in the final third.

In the Wednesday semi-final, Walid Regragui’s team certainly gave France some trouble, but Theo Hernandez’s acrobatic effort and Randal Kolo Muani’s tap-in 44 seconds after entering the field put an end to the Atlas Lions’ hopes of dominating Qatar.

Croatia vs Morocco Head to Head

Croatia

1 – 0

Morocco

Croatia vs Morocco Form Guide

Croatia’s last 5 games – WDDDL

Argentina	3 – 0	Croatia
Croatia	1 – 1	Brazil
Japan	1 – 1	Croatia
Croatia	0 – 0	Belgium
Croatia	4 – 1	Canada

Morocco’s last 5 games – WWDWL

France	2 – 0	Morocco
Morocco	1 – 0	Portugal
Morocco	0 – 0	Spain
Canada	1 – 2	Morocco
Belgium	0 – 2	Morocco

Key stats

In two head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Croatia have won one game and drawn one.
Tottenham Hotspur star Ivan Perisic has registered three goal contributions in the tournament so far for Croatia.
Hoffenheim attacker Andrej Kramaric has scored two goals for Croatia in the competition so far.
Chelsea forward Ziyech has managed two goal contributions for Morocco in the competition.
Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri has scored two goals in the World Cup for Morocco.

Croatia vs Morocco prediction

A trident of injured defenders would not inspire confidence in any team, but Morocco’s backline replacements have given impressive performances and are now taking on a Croatian lineup that is not known for its attacking prowess. Hence we go with the following pickings in this fixture: