Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 for third-place FIFA 22
FIFA 22 — Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 in the third-place match, finishing the tournament in a top-three spot for the second straight World Cup.
Goals
Both sides scored in the first 10 minutes of this contest, as Josko Gvardiol opened the scoring in the seventh minutes.
OH MY 😳
Mislav Oršić with a beauty to put Croatia up just before the half 🎯 pic.twitter.com/OtquwmKsfr
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 17, 2022
Mislav Orsic fired Croatia back in front just before half-time with a beautiful lobbed finish that floated across a diving Bono and into the net.
Moments later, Morocco evened up the score at one apiece when defender Achraf Dari knocked in a header.
Morocco pushed for an equaliser throughout the second half, with Youssef En-Nesyri getting the best chance in the dying minutes, but were unable to level the score.
Morocco had a dream run to the semifinals before falling just short of the ultimate goal, becoming the first African nation to make it that far. Croatia, meanwhile, hushed the doubters who were skeptical the team could replicate its success from 2018 and showed it can be a contender for years to come. Both teams are still approaching Saturday’s game like it is the World Cup final.
Emotional injury
Croatia forward Andrej Kramaric left the game with an injury early in the second half and was overcome with emotion.
