Croatia vs. Morocco: A clash of ultimate defensive tactics.

Although they didn't reach the final, both Croatia and Morocco left a strong impression despite not being highly rated before the tournament. The playing style they employed in most matches was relatively similar: proactive defense, controlling the midfield, and not giving their opponents much space to launch attacks. Up to the semi-finals, Croatia had only conceded 3 goals, while Morocco had only conceded 1 goal, an own goal by center-back Nayef Aguerd.

Defender Achraf Hakimi (left) challenges Luka Modric in the 0-0 draw between Morocco and Croatia in Group F of the 2022 World Cup. Photo:Reuters

The midfield is expected to remain a key area in the upcoming match, given the quality of both teams' midfielders. However, Croatia will likely be without Marcelo Brozovic, who suffered an injury in the semi-final against Argentina. Kristijan Jakic could be the option coach Zlatko Dalic uses to replace him.

Besides Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic was among the few players who performed consistently well in the match against Argentina. The Chelsea midfielder was always present in key areas of the pitch to contest the ball, and was ready to initiate Croatia's attacking moves with his characteristic dribbling ability. In the semi-final, Kovacic successfully completed 4 out of 6 dribbles and participated in 15 possession situations, winning 10 of those challenges. In the match against Morocco, the 28-year-old will have the opportunity to face Azzedine Ounahi, an exciting discovery at the 2022 World Cup and a key player in the midfield for the "Atlas Lions" alongside Sofyan Amrabat. The Angers midfielder also possesses skillful dribbling and has a 77% successful dribbling rate.

The defense is becoming a worrying area for coach Walid Regragui as the African team is missing several key players due to injury. Although center-backs Roman Saiss and Nayef Aguerd, along with left-back Noussair Mazraoui, had various problems before the match against France, the 47-year-old coach still risked using them. As a result, captain Saiss and Mazraoui were both substituted early, while Aguerd was withdrawn from the starting lineup in the final minutes due to concerns about his fitness.

Although still aiming for third place, Regragui was realistic, stating that Morocco could be satisfied with their result at the 2022 World Cup, becoming the first African team in history to reach the semi-finals. "We wanted to reach the final, however, small mistakes prevented the team from doing so," the 47-year-old coach said. "The players did what they could, but we can't rely on miracles to win; we need to train harder to make that dream a reality next time."

With several key players absent due to injury, Regragui also stated that he would use players who haven't had many opportunities to play in the World Cup in the match against Croatia.

On the European side, besides Brozovic, coach Dalic is also likely to be without the services of young talent Josko Gvardiol due to a foot injury. After 6 matches at the 2022 World Cup, Croatia has conceded 75 shots from opponents – more than any other team in the tournament. The fact that Dalic's team only conceded 3 goals before the match against France is largely thanks to Gvardiol.

In the last 10 matches where they won the Bronze Medal, the European representatives have all won. In their first World Cup appearance in 1998, Croatia finished third after beating the Netherlands 2-1. Therefore, according toStats PerformanceThe 2018 World Cup runner-up's chances of winning against Morocco are slightly higher at 43.1%, compared to 30.9% for the "Atlas Lions". The likelihood of the two teams going into extra time is 26%, however, this is unlikely given that only one of the last 19 third-place matches has been decided after 90 minutes.

If the "Atlas Lions" keep a clean sheet against Croatia in their upcoming match, the African representatives will become the eighth team in history to achieve a record of five clean sheets in a single World Cup match.

At the pre-match press conference, coach Dalic expressed his respect for Morocco's performance throughout the tournament. "Morocco has cohesion in their play and was the biggest surprise at the World Cup, beating Belgium, Spain, and Portugal," he said. "Croatia is not taking the third-place playoff lightly and will field its fittest players to face Morocco."

Expected starting lineup

Croatia: Livakovic, Juranovic, Sutalo, Lovren, Sosa, Modric, Kovacic, Jakic, Vlasic, Petkovic, Perisic.

Oregon: Bono, Hakimi, Dari, El-Yamiq, Attiyat-Allah, Ounahi, Amrabat, Amallah, Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal.