Croatia clinched their third top-three finish at the World Cup with a 2-1 play-off victory over history-makers Morocco. Zlatko Dalic's side were runners-up to France four years ago and confirmed their status as one of the elite footballing nations with another third-place finish to go alongside that secured in their competition debut in 1998. Josko Gvardiol gave Croatia the lead but Achraf Dari levelled. Mislav Orsic curled in a sumptuous second for Croatia and it finished 2-1. Gulf News football experts look back at the match and forwards to tomorrow’s final between Argentina and France.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Golf News Kicking Back. We've just seen the 63rd match of the FIFA
00:13World Cup which is taking place in Qatar. It was the third place playoff between Croatia
00:18and Morocco. And Shah, Morocco, I mean unfortunately they've lost 2-1 today and they never really
00:23looked like winning the match today, did they?
00:27You could say that because I thought Croatia had the match pretty much under control. In
00:33fact, they could have gone even one more, they could have killed off the match actually.
00:37Gorilla has scored I think. He got tripped up by Amrapala. That looked like a penalty
00:42win to me. But anyway, I would have liked to have another look at it but we didn't get
00:47to see another video of that particular foul. But also notice that Yusuf Neysery missed
00:54two chances, one-on-one there. And I think that was... And Morocco's chances went with
01:01it. And normally... But I was surprised at the way the match was played. Normally, third-place
01:10matches, I don't pay much attention to it. But I never knew a third-place match could
01:14be so exciting. I think part of the reason was the 7th-minute goal. Normally, we've seen
01:21that even in the semi-finals, an early goal seems to wake up Morocco pretty early. And
01:27they hit back in a matter of two minutes. So, that gave rise to some exciting match.
01:33Not just that, the goals were really, really good. But that Guardiola's flying header,
01:39that was one of the superb goals there. I mean, I think it should be one of the goals
01:43of the tournament, really. So, also the second one by our... The way he lobbed the goalkeeper,
01:51I thought that was that. That was some rare skill. So, we saw a couple of good goals today.
01:55Morocco tried their best. And I think, finally, I think that's a just result. Not just that,
02:00I was quite happy the way the Croatians celebrated. Because they were celebrating as if they won
02:07the World Cup. I would say, I think I'm only happy for them simply because you look at
02:13that four years back, they finished second. And today, they finished third. So, that speaks
02:19for some awesome consistency. And also, if we say goodbye to the golden generation, I
02:25think more and more of these guys we won't see in the next World Cup. But we have also
02:31seen they have a good array of players coming up. And I think Guardiola, just Guardiola
02:36leaves that boundary, really. So, plenty to take away from this match.
02:41Absolutely. Guardiola was the guy, obviously, who was twisted and turned by Messi for that
02:46third goal in the quarterfinals. But like you say, Sean, that header today, it was a
02:51lovely well-worked free kick from the Croatians. It was a ball played into the back post and
02:55Perisic with a backwards header put it back into the path of Guardiola. And he, from 12
03:00yards out, had to use all his neck muscles to get the power into the ball and get it
03:05past Bono. Bono, who nearly scored an awful goal today, would have been a disaster.
03:10Oh, that was horrendous.
03:11He was very lucky. Yeah, he was very lucky that he tried to pass the ball out to Hakimi
03:17and he sliced it off his left foot and it was just inches past the goal line. But yeah,
03:23but Morocco came back with a lovely header of the red. It was Dari, I think, a minute
03:27after Croatia had taken the lead. But then, like you say, Sean, Perisic with a beautiful
03:31goal. Now, most players in that position would probably thrash at the ball to get as much
03:35power as they could. But he showed tremendous calm and presence just to, you know, get that
03:39lift and bend it past Bono. It clipped the post and it went in. That was the end of the
03:42scoring. But, you know, Morocco can go home and hold their heads up very high. They've
03:49had a superb tournament. When you think of a fourth team in the World Cup, you'd think
03:53it'd be something like Spain or Germany or England or Brazil. But no, it's been Morocco
03:58and they've had a superb tournament. And just sum up, Sean, in a couple of words, overall,
04:04how impressed you've been with the Moroccans?
04:07Morocco, I mean, I have no words to describe it. Because the kind of passion and energy
04:12they show throughout the tournament is amazing. I think they all owe a lot of it to their
04:18supporters who have been fabulous throughout the tournament. Not just that, they also show
04:22that they have the skill and the technique to go toe-to-toe with the best in the world.
04:27And which also shows that the African and Arab football have come of age. And I think
04:32this would inspire a new generation to come. And I think this will be the vanguard of a
04:39new wave of football in the world of football itself.
04:47Yeah, they've been a real breath of fresh air. And to get to this stage is absolutely
04:51remarkable. On an individual level, they've all played absolutely superb. And I don't
04:56think the coach could have asked for any more from them. They've been the highlight, I think
04:59we can all safely say, for this particular tournament. And yeah, they finished fourth.
05:04That's absolutely superb. After their seventh game, they've only had six games altogether
05:09prior to this in the whole of the history of the World Cup. They had seven in this tournament
05:13and they've done well. But yes, Croatia, as you said, Cham, they've done superb. They finished
05:17runners-up in the last World Cup in 2018. They finished third in this edition. And in
05:22their debut in 1998, they also finished third. So that's a strong showing from the Croatians
05:28and well done to them. Let's bring in Satish. He's waiting there patiently. Satish, tomorrow,
05:32the final match of the World Cup. Match number 64. It's Argentina. It's against France. It's
05:38been… It's got to be Messi. All eyes on Messi, obviously. And obviously, Kylian Mbappe as well.
05:44Now, how do you think tomorrow's game, Satish, is going to go?
05:48I think it can't get any better than that. It seems probably that two of the best teams
05:52who slowly came up through the tournament, after the rounds, slowly got better and better.
06:00And that's why they are here. What a cracker of a game it is expected to be. And obviously,
06:07for me, it's the past versus the future probably. Messi is probably going to hand over the baton
06:15to Mbappe to rule the world, maybe. So, a lot of intriguing things happening. But yes,
06:22it's going to be a phenomenal game. And I think everybody will be eager to watch it,
06:28Imran. I think it's probably a fitting… After all the surprises, shockers and hype that this
06:37tournament in Qatar has created during the course of the event, I think this is a fitting finale.
06:44Yes, absolutely. And in fact, Satish, France was your tip. So,
06:47you've done very well to get them all the way. You'll be hoping, obviously, for a France win
06:52tomorrow. But Shaam, like we've just seen today, an early goal makes all the difference in the
06:56game. Now, this being the World Cup final, with so much at stake, probably if we don't get an
07:01early goal, it more than likely will be a very cagey affair with both defences, you know,
07:06commanding the game and really not giving anything away. Ideally, for a spectacle,
07:11we need an early goal. That will make the game… That will just open up the game, won't it?
07:16Absolutely. I completely agree with you there. Simply because these are two powerhouses and
07:23not just that. Both of them want to win it desperately. When you want to win,
07:27when you are so desperate to win, you try to be defensive. You want the rivals to make the
07:34first mistake. So, it will be a waiting game. Like you said, I want to see a goal in the first 10
07:39minutes. If a goal falls in the first 10 minutes, it's going to wake up the rivals. I mean, the
07:45hoover is still trailing. And that will open up the game and we will see a fabulous game. Otherwise,
07:52I think it's going to be a snooze-fest. It will be like, you know, it will be like a Holyfield
07:57boxing match. You will just be ducking and weaving without really throwing much punches,
08:01really. So, I mean, I don't want to see that. I mean, that's absolutely boring.
08:05So, for the sake of the football prognosis, I hope there is a goal in the first 10 minutes.
08:12And not just that. You also have to realise these two teams have not been playing excellent
08:17football. They have been pretty mediocre. They have just done enough to pull through to the
08:25final. Because if you look at Arjun and Nina, I mean, they came up through the strength of Messi.
08:32In fact, if it was not for Messi's brilliance in some of those games, I think Argentina would
08:37not have come through. Same with France. They showed in patches. And those patchy
08:46moments of brilliance was enough for them to win and come through.
08:50I mean, one thing that should be said in their favour is they are excellent at game management.
08:57And if they put a goal in or two and they know how to manage the game, they know how to win it.
09:03That is exactly what this tournament plays all about. And France are masters at it.
09:07But I hope, like you said, for the sake of the millions watching this football final,
09:15I hope there is an early goal. If it is in the first 10 minutes, all the more better.
09:20Absolutely. An early goal would really open up the game. Satish,
09:24two teams have played each other 12 times. Argentina have won six, France have won three,
09:29and three have been drawn. But the last game that they played was at the 2018 World Cup,
09:34and it finished 4-3. It was an absolutely thrilling game. I think that kind of a game
09:39is what we all would love to see. But Satish, just going to the team news at the moment,
09:43as we all know, the French squad is in real trouble at the moment. Five of their players
09:49have been down with the flu. I mean, if they are struggling to put together their strongest
09:55line-up, that will be very encouraging news for Messi playing in his final game
10:00for Argentina tomorrow, won't it? Yes, you're absolutely right. As it is,
10:05France is probably a B team because some of the big guys are already not there
10:10when they came in here. So over and above, if it helps them, it's going to be a difficult thing.
10:15But I'm sure they have enough resources and I'm sure coming to a final, you can come up with a
10:21new hero also. Sometimes you never know. A player who wouldn't have come anywhere close,
10:25you throw him to the deep end and you can come up with a cup and a trophy and give it to you.
10:29So, you never know. But yes, certainly it will be a big morale booster for Argentina.
10:36But I hope we still wanted to see the best game. Whoever comes in, I'm sure,
10:42as you said, if there's an early goal, it can really spark the game into going all out and
10:49then we can see some very good football. Absolutely. Right, guys, let's have some
10:54predictions. I'm going to go first. I'm going to say Argentina to win this by two goals to one
11:00and being the football romantic that I am, it's going to be Lionel Messi scoring the winner
11:04in the 90th minute with a free kick. Shaum, top that.
11:09If Francis can put out a good team, like you said, if they're not hit by this virus or whatever
11:16bug they have, or this flu bug which is affecting the camp, if they can put out a
11:21decent XI out there, I think they will win 2-1. Wow, okay. So, 2-1 the other way. And Satish?
11:29I will support the same thing. Because what will happen is,
11:32Messi, on the threshold of record, so much added pressure on himself. So, in all probability,
11:39he could fail there. That's exactly where the greatest players, the legends have all failed.
11:46This is a stage where it can… Because if he has done it in the past, it could be… Probably,
11:53he would have had this experience before. But now, in his last attempt, coming there,
11:58that's a huge pressure. But that will differentiate between the greatest and the legendary
12:03finish that Messi will get. Okay, we'll see. Will Messi fall under the pressure?
12:09It's the final match tomorrow. We'll be back to see how it goes. In the meantime,
12:13head to golfuse.com for all the latest news and reviews. And check us out on our social
12:17media channels. Thank you to Satish and thanks to Sham. And see you all tomorrow.