The game was almost over when Ivan Perisic did something extraordinary. He waved his arms on the sidelines, he wanted to encourage the Croatian fans to draw attention to themselves again. They answered him with loud roars. And then it sounded in the Khalifa Stadium, at least briefly, also in the ranks of Croatian superiority. A few minutes later, the 2018 World Cup runners-up made history as third-placed with a 2-1 win over Morocco.
After the final whistle, the Croatians sang to accompany the celebrations on the pitch that enabled goals from Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic in the first half. Coach Zlatko Dalic kissed Luka Modric on the forehead, the 37-year-old midfielder from Real Madrid, who was also great at this World Cup. Modric celebrated exuberantly, with his family, with his colleagues, he stayed on the pitch for a long time. Was it his last game for Croatia? No, he said, he will continue playing in the Nations League.
Where the Moroccan fans sat and stood, it had been quiet for a long time. And the footballers who had become famous in the past few weeks as the first African semi-finalists in World Cup history, Sofyan Amrabat, Achraf Hakimi, Hakim Ziyech, they disappeared quite quickly after they went to the “Sudschud”, their ritual prayer, one last time , had knelt on the lawn in Qatar.
Games for third place can be atmosphere finals, remember the 2006 World Cup, Germany’s 3-1 win over Portugal, the goals of Bastian Schweinsteiger and the celebration afterwards in Stuttgart, a long time ago. However, games for third place can also be forgotten quite quickly. As a reminder, in 2018 Belgium beat England 2-0.
This time the so-called small finale was one of the more atmospheric kind. After all, the Moroccans felt like the home team of this World Cup in Qatar. So once again the chants of the Moroccan fans could be heard, again their whistles as soon as the opponent had the ball until the end. Once again they shouted “Sir”, their version of the Icelandic “Huh”, which means something like “Go!”.
But the footballers down on the pitch couldn’t take it anymore after three exhausting knockout games with non-stop defensive work and many injuries. Both teams’ doctors were on the pitch in the closing stages, with the Moroccans having to send off Jawad El Yamiq, the next of many injured. In the Croatians, it was Andrej Kramaric from TSG Hoffenheim who was replaced in tears.
Orsic scored one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament just before the break
Not all the regular players met on Saturday because of the tiredness mentioned. Croatia coach Dalic changed five times, Moroccan Walid Regragui changed three times. The last two Germans left in the tournament came into play, Josip Stanisic and Abdelhamid Sabiri, who had mostly been on the bench during the course of the tournament.
Munich-born Stanisic, 22, from FC Bayern, defended for Croatia, Sabiri, 26, who grew up in Frankfurt, played in central Moroccan midfield. Both were once German junior internationals. Sabiri was substituted at half-time, Stanisic played through.
The game was initially full of mistakes. Morocco’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, known as Bono, and one of the best goalkeepers in the World Cup, slipped a pass in the second minute and the ball narrowly rolled wide of its own post. Five minutes later he was beaten for the first time: the Croatians had considered a free-kick variant, a chip from Lovro Majer, a header from Perisic, a diving header from Gvardiol, the 1-0.
Two minutes later, the Moroccans equalized, also from a free kick: Majer failed a defensive action with a header, the ball flew through the penalty area in a high arc, and Achraf Dari scored. But the Croatians remained the better team, made fewer mistakes and played like the favourites. Modric dictated the pace with his passes, he dropped deep back in the build-up. Orsic scored one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament just before the break, a flick in the corner from the run.
Both teams played more offensively than before, but there was really only one clear chance of equalizing: In added time, Youssef En-Nesyri’s header flew just over the goal. But there was excitement about two decisions by referee Abdulrahman al-Jassim, a Qatari. He didn’t whistle for two scenes, although it was a good idea: In the 74th minute, Amrabat Gvardiol braked in the Moroccan penalty area, in a counterattack Petkovic bumped into Hakimi in the Croatian penalty area.
And so the Moroccan fans, who were so formative for this tournament, were loud one last time: They whistled when the referee received his medal.