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Beating two world class teams in Argentina and
France to reach the final proved to be a step too far for
Croatia and Morocco, who handsomely defied pre-tournament odds
to reach the semis.
Morocco rewrote history along the way when Walid Regragui's
fearless squad became the first African team to reach the last
four of football's showpiece event.
They will be welcomed home as heroes regardless of the result
having not only earned the respect and support of the continent
and the Arab world, but also having found a place in the hearts
of neutral fans who love a true underdog story.
Croatia and Morocco will face off in Qatar for a second time
after playing out a 0-0 draw in their group opener, just as in
2018 when Belgium and England met each other in the group stage
and third-place playoff.
"It will be difficult on a mental level. I will give
opportunities to those who did not play and we will try to
clinch third place," Regragui said.
"The important thing is that we presented a good look to our
team and that football in Morocco is not far from the top
level."
For 2018 runners-up Croatia, reaching a second consecutive final
looked unlikely when they won just one group game.
But through sheer graft and tenacity, two penalty shootout wins
over Japan and favourites Brazil earned them a semi-final match
with Argentina, where an in-form Lionel Messi was the architect
of their destruction.
"Realistically speaking, before the start of the tournament, we
would all have accepted reaching the semi-finals. However, we
started to dream about the trophy," Croatia midfielder Lovro
Majer said.
"Still, we will give everything we've got on Saturday and try to
win the bronze medal."
For Croatia it represented an opportunity missed to crown their
golden generation of players, with coach Zlatko Dalic confirming
most of them will not play in the next World Cup.
"I told the players they need to keep their heads up, be proud
of giving their maximum and be ready, we must prepare to fight
for third place," Dalic said.
"There is no blame on our guys, I congratulate them for
everything they've done at this World Cup. Now we have to get
up, dust ourselves off and try to win the bronze medal."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Doha; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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