AIR GVARDIOL: The 20-year-old youngster's flying header opened the score for Croatia — AFP/VNA Photo

Anh Đức

HÀ NỘI — Croatia are bronze medalists after beating Morocco 2-1 in the third-place playoff on Saturday.

This is the Croatians' third time on the podium, after 1998 and 2018.

As with other World Cup third-place playoffs, the match was open from the start.

Croatia started with an attacking-minded 3-5-2, while Morocco played in their usual 4-1-2-3 that have brought them success.

The two teams have met each other once in the group stage, where Morocco held Croatia to a goalless draw.

But the boring result did not continue in this match, as three goals were scored in the first half.

Zlatko Dalic's side opened the score after a fine set piece work in the 9th minute. Lovro Majer's cross into the box met Ivan Perisic, who headed backwards for Josko Gvardiol to power his header into the back of Yassine Bounou's net.

Gvardiol, 20, scored his second goal in the World Cup, further raising his value on the transfer market.

But the joy of Croatians lasted just two minutes. From a counterattack, Morocco got a free kick, where Hakim Ziyech's cross rebounded off Luka Modric. Achraf Dari was in the right place to seize the opportunity and beat Dominik Livakovic at the near post.

Chances came for both teams as the first half went on but it was Croatia again broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute.

After a steal from Mateo Kovacic, Marko Livaja passed to Vladimir Orsic, who cut inside and fired from a tight angle.

The ball hit Bounou's post before going into his net, and the Moroccan goalkeeper was helpless.

In the second half, play slowed down as Croatia looked to protect the score. The drama reignited in the 74th minute when Gvardiol was brought down by Sofyan Amrabat inside the Moroccans' penalty area.

Although replays showed that Amrabat kicked Gvardiol in the legs, referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim did not give the penalty, nor consult VAR.

Morocco had two chances to equalise but Youssef En-Nesyri cannot beat Livakovic and the game ended 2-1 for Croatia.

Although defeated, Morocco still made history as the first African team to make the semi-finals. Walid Regragui's men are still applauded by thousands of fans at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Luka Modric, captain of Croatia, said after the match that he was pondering his return to the coming Euro 2024. But with or without Modric, Croatia still shows a great prospect of becoming a top team, after a great performance this year. — VNS