Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic revealed that it was a “highly emotional night” after his gritty side conquered a spirited Morocco, backed by a 40,000-strong Arab-supporting crowd, 2-1 in the third-place match at the Khalifa Stadium on Saturday.
Young and scoring
The World Cup’s Young Player of the Year contender, Josko Gvardiol also became the youngest-ever goal-scorer for his country at a World Cup (20 years, 328 days), when he got to the end of a smartly executed free-kick as Croatia took the lead in the seventh minute. As they have done so often in this tournament, Morocco fought back and almost instantly Achraf Dari (ninth minute) made it 1-1. Croatia though had the final say when Mislav Orsic cutely curled one in from outside the box and over promising goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to ensure last edition’s runners-up clinched a bronze this time round.
“It was a big and tough game, but I’d also like to congratulate Morocco. They played an outstanding game. They were exhausted, had some injuries, but kept fighting till the last minute. They reminded me of our World Cup team four years ago. We won a medal then which we think of as a gold medal. And now to win a medal again after four years, to be at the top of the football world, especially for a country as small as Croatia, is a monumental achievement,” said Dalic at the post-match press conference.
Tears of joy
There were tears of joy all across the Croatian team as they celebrated with their wives and children on the Khalifa turf, happily posing for pictures and selfies. “This game was really tough for us. When we won against Brazil [in the quarter-final], I had said that the real problems have just started for us now, meaning we are now in a situation where we haven’t won anything yet. The worst feeling is when you’re fighting for the third place and you lose that game. That’s why emotions were highest today. The referee’s final whistle marked the end of a very important journey, particularly for our players, who gave their everything. These are the kind of emotions every player lives for,” he concluded.
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