Croatia has beaten Morocco 2-1 in the World Cup third place play-off in Doha
Achraf Dari and Josko Gvardiol provided their sides with early goals. However, Mislav Orsic scored another goal, giving Croatia a 2-1 lead over Morocco in the World Cup third-place play-off at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic made five changes from the team beaten 3-0 by Argentina in the semi-finals. This bought Lovro Majer into the midfield in place of Marcelo Brozovic. Hakim Ziyech was captaining Morocco today. Romain Saiss was benched among the substitutes after injury forced him off early in the 2-0 semi-final loss to France.
Forecasts favoured 12th-ranked Croatia for the win today, giving the team a 56 percent chance of beating 22nd-ranked Morocco. Another prediction is that France, captained by Hugo Lloris, will edge out Argentina on Sunday.
France restores diplomatic relations
According to the French Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, there are more than 780,000 people of Moroccan origin in France and the visa dispute has made it difficult for their relatives in Morocco to visit them.
However, after they played this week, France restored normal diplomatic relations with Rabat.
Argentina and France will face off on Sunday, December 18, to determine the champion. The winner will take home bronze medals and $27 million in prize money. The losers get $2 million less — and no medals.
