Croatia beat Morocco to third place in 2022 World Cup after intense 90 minutes

Croatia's golden generation bow out of what is likely their final FIFA World Cup as third-best, beating a record-setting Moroccan team 2-1 to the honours.

In a break from tradition, Croatia took only ninety minutes to dispatch a Moroccan team that fought back till the clock ran out, aided by a Mislav Orsic stunner and a very early Josko Gvardiol goal. The African team restored parity through an Achraf Dari goal but could only keep it for half an hour, after which Croatia went ahead by one goal through Oric.

Gvardiol became Croatia's youngest ever World Cup goal scorer to cap off his sensational tournament form before gunning it back to the other end to keep his African opponents in check.


Morocco left it all on the pitch in their attempt to establish themselves as the third-best team in this year's tournament but were contained - albeit unconvincingly - by a resolute Croatian team. Despite their loss, the Atlas Lions leave Qatar as one of the tournament's most successful African teams having reached the semi-finals for the first time in their history.