Croatia and Morocco meet for the second time at FIFA World Cup as they both seek a victorious conclusion to a memorable campaign in the third-place play-off.
Their first encounter, in the opening Group F fixture, ended goalless.
The nations’ only other meeting was also a draw, 2-2 in Casablanca in 1996 – though Croatia prevailed 7-6 on penalties.
While this fixture is new territory for Morocco – and indeed any African team – Croatia took the bronze medals on their finals debut in 1998, when they defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in Paris.
This is the second successive FIFA World Cup third-place play-off between teams who also met in the group stage, Belgium and England having also done so in 2018.
Croatia have yet to concede a goal against African opposition at the FIFA World Cup, wins against Cameroon (4-0 in 2014) and Nigeria (2-0 in 2018) preceding this year’s stalemate against Morocco.
Game to be played on Sunday December 18, 2022
Third place playoff
Croatia v Morocco
Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, 4am (NZT)
Game to be played on Monday December 19, 2022
Final
Argentina v France
Lusail Stadium, Lusail, 4am (NZT)
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