FIFA 2022 WC: Modric vows to stay after Croatia outclass Morocco

Croatia outclassed Morocco with a 2-1 win and clinched their second consecutive third place finish at the FIFA World Cup. Croatia, inspired by Luka Modric 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. In a frantic opening, Josko Gvardiol gave Croatia the lead on seven minutes with a superb diving header but Achraf Dari levelled just two minutes later by nodding home from close range. Mislav Orsic curled in a sumptuous second for Croatia via the post three minutes before half-time and struck a thumping, deflected drive into the side-netting after the break. The second half could not match the energy of a thrilling opening period and Morocco failed to find an equaliser as a fruitful campaign ended in back-to-back defeats. It’s the game no team wants to be involved in but in the end Croatia, a country with a population under 4 million, will be highly satisfied with another outstanding showing on the global stage. At the heart of the team is influential skipper Modric, running the show once again at the age of 37 on his 162nd cap, though this could well be his last appearance at a World Cup. “Yes, it might be my last World Cup game, but I can’t say anything. But of course, I am very happy for my whole career in Croatia. Winning two medals is very important, my dream was to win the Cup, but it didn’t happen,” Modric said. “But I’m very happy, we have confirmed that Croatia has a great team, with a very good future ahead of us and we have to continue. In the future, we will see what happens. At least I want to continue until the Nations League and then we’ll see what happens.” “You can no longer talk about Croatia as a team that does something every 20 years, that stands out, I think that with the last World Cup and with this one we have put Croatia on the map of great teams and we are very happy. “You could see on the field how we celebrated. It means a lot, really, to win two medals in two World Cups is something very important and very big for Croatia.”