Croatia finishes third and establishes itself amongst world's elite

Croatia have earned a spot on the podium at a World Cup for the second consecutive time after defeating Morocco 2-1. Croatia finished as the runner-up in 2018. It was a rematch of the teams' first group stage match, which ended in a scoreless draw.

The Croatians had control of the game early on and were able to generate more danger. Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine "Bono" Bounou almost scored an own goal after a poorly executed pass that just missed his goalpost.

Croatia's persistence paid off in the 6th minute, when Josko Gvardiol (1-0) hit a perfect header into the back of the net off a set play on a free kick. The young Croatian defender was one of his team's great performers in this World Cup.

The "Atlas Lions" kept their heads up, and it didn't take them but two minutes to tie the match. Achraf Dari (1-1) scored with his own header from a free kick. This resilience shows why underdog Morocco made it all the way to the third-place match.

The atmosphere intensified as the game went on. Every time one of the teams approached the opponent's box, it caused agony for the fans. Mislav Oršić (2-1) was able put Croatia ahead with a beautifully crafted goal that Bono could not stop.

Early in the second half, Oršić came close to extending the lead, but his shot went wide after deflecting off the back of a Moroccan defender.

While there were no more goals in the game, it was not for lack of chances. In the 74th minute, the Croatian team pleaded for a penalty for Joško Gvardiol, but the referee did not see it the same way.

Youssef En-Nesyri had the clearest chance for Morocco, but Dominik Livaković, arguably the best goalkeeper of the tournament, made a great save.

In the last minute, En-Nesyri again had the chance to send the game into extra time, but his shot went just wide of the goal.

With the victory, Croatia finish top three at a World Cup for the second consecutive time and established themselves as one of the world's great soccer powers.

Despite the loss, Morocco's tournament was far from a letdown. In one of this year's great stories, they managed to become the first African team to finish in the top four of a World Cup and earned the respect of the soccer world.