Croatia and Morocco will meet on Saturday in the minor final of the World Cup-2022, these two representatives are the opening of the competition in Qatar (this in the case of the Europeans, vice-champions of the world, can still be considered a surprise).

The Croatia-Morocco match will be on LiveBlog on HotNews.ro and live on TVR 1 from 17:00.

Probable teams:

Croatia: Livakovic – Yuranovic, Lovren, Shutalo, Sosa – Modric, Jakic, Kovacic – Vlasic, Kramaric, Perisic. Coach: Zlatko Dalich

Morocco: Bono – Hakimi, El-Yamik, Dari, Attiyat-Allah – Unahi, Amrabat, Amalla – Zieh, En-Nesiri, Bufal. Selector: Valid Regrahi

Know:

• Both teams started their journey in Group F, with Morocco finishing in first place and Croatia in second place (Belgium and Canada were also part of this group).

• Then the Europeans overcame Japan in the round of 16 (4-2 after penalties) and Brazil in the quarters (5-3 after penalties). Croatia lost to Argentina 3-0 in the semi-finals.

• The Africans defeated Spain in the 1/8 finals (3:0 after a penalty) and Portugal in the quarterfinals (1:0). In the penultimate act, Morocco lost to France with a score of 0:2.

• Croatia’s best results in World Cup history: 2nd place in 2018 and 3rd place in 2002.

• For Morocco, the course in Qatar is the best in history. Previously, the Moroccans only reached the 1/8 finals at the World Cup in 1986. Morocco is the first African team to make it this far at the World Cup.

• The match will be refereed by Abdulrahman Al Jasim from Qatar. He will be assisted on two lines by midfielders Taleb Al Marri and Saud Ahmed Almakale (both also from Qatar). The reserve referee will be Rafael Klaus (Brazil), and the VAR referees: Julio Bascunan (Chile), Paul van Boekel (Netherlands), Bruno Pires (Brazil) and Armando Villarreal (USA).

WC 2022, finals schedule

• Small final: Croatia vs Morocco – December 17 / 17:00 / Khalifa International Stadium

• Grand Finale: Argentina – France – December 18 / 17:00 / Lusail Stadium.