Mislav Orsic’s sublime goal towards the end of the first half gave Croatia a 2-1 win over Morocco in the third-place playoff at the World Cup.
Morocco were without key defenders Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui and they began uncertainly before Josko Gvardiol converted a smartly worked set piece in the seventh minute. But Morocco centre-back Achraf Dari was left unmarked to hit back immediately.
Both sides continued to attack with the pressure off, making for an attractive spectacle. The most sumptuous moment of the first half came when Orsic lofted a beautiful finish over Bono and in off the far post after the Morocco goalkeeper saw his team give possession away on the edge of his area.
The second period became more attritional as both sides suffered injuries and put everything on the line one last time after their superb campaigns in Qatar.
