Ageless Luka Modric on Saturday inspired his Croatia side to a 2-1 victory over Morocco to take the bronze medal at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
The tightly contested affair at the Khalifa International Stadium confirmed that the losers, Morocco – the first African side to reach the semifinals, have the calibre to compete at the highest level of football.
Croatia opened the scoring through a superb diving header from Joko Gvardiol in the 7th minute.
Two minutes later Morocco hit back with a 9th-minute equaliser from Achraf Dari.
Mislav Orsic scored the second goal – that proved to be the winning strike for Croatia – in the 42nd minute.
The second half was a hotly contested affair with neither side able to find the net despite several chances.
Even at 37, Modric kept his side in the game with intelligent passes and timely tackles to keep the goal hungry Atlas Lions at bay.
All attention moves to Sunday’s final between Argentina and France billed as the Messi vs Mbappe football showcase.
