Twenty-four years later (1998) Croatia repeated the success achieved in the fields of France. With the same score he had against the Netherlands at the time (2-1), tonight he beat Morocco in the “mini-final” of the World Cup in Qatar and finished 3rd in the tournament.

The second meeting of the two teams at the World Cup, at the Kalifa International Stadium in Doha (the first was in the group stage and ended in a goalless draw), showed Croatia the winner with excellent goals from Guardiol and Orsic in the first part, and for their part, the Africans temporarily tied with Dari.

De-stressed, both teams took to the field in good spirits to play outdoor football, to the delight of some 45,000 fans in the stands of Khalifa International in Doha.

In the first notable phase of the match, the Croats took the lead in the 7th minute with Guardiol’s header after the “combination” they made on Modric’s foul (he played in all 7 of Croatia’s matches in Qatar at 37). and he found Perisic and a final header gave the 20-year-old centre-back the opportunity to score for the first time in the tournament.

The “response” of the Moroccans was immediate. Two minutes after the Leipzig defender’s goal, it was Darry’s turn to beat Livakovic at close range, who was caught off guard by a header from Mayer attempting to clear the ball from an African free kick.

In the 18th minute, Kramaric’s header landed in Bono’s hands. The Sevilla goalkeeper made a saving intervention in Modrić’s drift shot at the 24th minute, and in the development of the phase he did not allow Livaya to score from close range (he hit the ball with his hand before it reached the feet of the former AEK striker).

Morocco threatened in the 29th minute when Hakimi took a cross from the right and En Nesiri was one step ahead of the ball’s trajectory, thus missing a unique chance to make it 2-1.

Finally, three minutes before the 45th minute, Oršić scored one of the most beautiful goals of the World Cup with a great finish after Livaja’s cross and put Hrvatska ahead again.

The second half began with the Croatians threatening first, in the 47th minute. However, Orsic’s kick from the penalty area hit the Moroccan defender’s body and went for a corner.

Until the 75th minute, there were no phases in front of the two teams. The Dalic team kept the Africans in their zone relatively easily, however, 15 minutes before the 90th minute, En Nessiri lost in a 4-on-4 match to Livakovic, who repelled the attack of the Sevilla striker.

In the 87th minute, Kovasic failed to “fix” his team’s victory when he missed against Bono.