World Cup

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World Cup | Third-Place Playoff

Dec 17, 2022 at 3pm UK

Khalifa International Stadium

Croatia
2 - 1
Morocco

Gvardiol (7'), Orsic (42')

FT(HT: 2-1)

Dari (9')
Ounahi (69'), Amallah (84')

World Cup 2022: Why to expect a low-scoring game between Croatia and Morocco

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 16 December 2022

Ahead of Saturday's World Cup 2022 third-place playoff between Croatia and Morocco, Sports Mole looks at why to expect a low-scoring contest.

A World Cup 2022 bronze medal is on the line in Saturday's third-place playoff at the Khalifa International Stadium as Croatia tackle Morocco for the chance to finish on the podium.

Zlatko Dalic's side could not conjure up a repeat of the 2018 final with France after suffering a 3-0 semi-final defeat to Argentina, who struck through a Julian Alvarez brace and Lionel Messi's penalty.

Meanwhile, Morocco's magical journey was brought to an end by the reigning champions 24 hours later, as Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani's efforts secured a 2-0 win for Les Bleus.

Defences have normally come out on top during Croatia and Morocco's matches at the World Cup, which is a testament to their defensive nous and attacking failures in equal measure, with both sides flattering to deceive on the goalscoring front.

Indeed, Croatia have found the back of the net six times in Qatar, but four of those strikes came in their 4-1 thumping of Canada, with an Ivan Perisic header against Japan and Bruno Petkovic's deflected strike against Brazil representing their other efforts.

The Atlas Lions have not fared much better in the final third, racking up a total of five goals en route to the third-place playoff and also failing to score in three of their World Cup encounters in the 2022 tournament.

Croatia players celebrate qualifying for the quarter-finals of the World Cup on December 5, 2022 © Reuters

As a result, those expecting sparks to fly between Croatia and Morocco should likely look elsewhere, as everything points towards the destiny of the bronze medal being decided by just the one goal or yet another penalty shootout.

Furthermore, Croatia (0.90) and Morocco (0.79) have two of the worst goal tallies per 90 minutes out of the 16 teams to reach the knockout stages - only the USA, Poland and Australia performed worse in that regard with 0.75 each.

It has been difficult for Petkovic, Andrej Kramaric, Marko Livaja and Ante Budimir to make their mark on the Qatar turf, and there is only so much that a 37-year-old Luka Modric - albeit one playing out of his skin - can do for Croatia.

Dalic's profligate attackers are also coming up against a Morocco backline that did not concede once to an opposing player before the semi-finals, and midfield general Sofyan Amrabat is sure to play a central role in his side's defensive efforts once again.

Croatia were also given the run-around against Argentina, but Morocco do not possess the likes of Lionel Messi or Julian Alvarez in their ranks, and the Checkered Ones had only shipped three goals in their previous five games before the semi-finals.

It will therefore come as no surprise to learn that Croatia and Morocco's first game of the tournament saw the two bronze medal hopefuls play out a 0-0 draw - where Dalic's men only had five shots - so it may take just one moment of attacking inspiration to settle Saturday's penultimate World Cup match.