The match will be played on the 17th of December at the Khalifa International Stadium, Qatar. Croatia are aiming to finish third in the World Cup for the second time whereas Morocco are appearing in this fixture for the first time.
Croatia come into the match having lost 3-0 to Argentina in their World Cup semi-final. The concession of a penalty in the 34th minute set Croatia back and they conceded a second goal just 5 minutes to end any chance they had of reaching the final.
Into the second half and Croatia failed to create the chances required to score and Argentina added to their tally with a third goal in the 69th minute.
That result was the first defeat for Croatia at the 2022 World Cup and the first time they have lost in 12 games.
However, wins have not been easy to come by for Croatia at this event and they have recorded just 1 victory inside 90 minutes and that was a 4-1 win over Canada in the final group match.
Morocco tasted defeat for the first time at the 2022 World Cup as they were beaten 2-0 by France in the semi-final. The French opened the scoring after only 5 minutes and that left Morocco in a tricky situation.
However, they pushed on in the second half and tried to create chances to score but it was not their night. France scored their second goal in the 79th minute and ended any hopes of an African team in the World Cup final.
Morocco are undefeated in 5 of their 6 2022 World Cup matches. In fact, there are no losses for Morocco in 42 of their most recent 43 games in all competitions.
Defensively, Morocco have been excellent and they have kept a clean sheet in 4 of their 6 matches at the 2022 World Cup. There have been under 2.5 goals scored in their last 3 fixtures.
Team news and Croatia should have everyone available for this game. It could be the last time we see Luka Modrić in the World Cup.
Morocco have injury problems, with Noussair Mazraoui, Romain Saïss, and Nayef Aguerd injured and unlikely to play any part in the match.
After playing extra-time and penalties in its previous two rounds, Croatia’s players looked understandably exhausted against the South Americans and were outplayed from start to finish.
Captain Luka Modric will no doubt want to end his international career on a high in what will be his last World Cup match and this group will want to secure its place as the best team in Croatian history with second-place and third-place finishes consecutively, a remarkable achievement for a country with a population of less than four million.
These two teams played out a tense 0-0 draw in their opening game of the group stages three weeks ago and Saturday’s clash will likely be just as tight.
