Croatia Victorious as Modric ends his World Cup career

The runners-up of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Croatia, who lost to Argentina in the Semi-Finals, ended up in the 3rd place playoff game against Morocco on the 17th of December 2022 after Morocco faced defeat at the hands of defending champions France in the Semi-Finals.

Morocco and Croatia met each other in a game for the bronze medal as well as some additional money for the cash prize, as the 3rd place team gets 27 million dollars and the 4th place team gets 25 million dollars. The game was more than just a third-place game for both sides.

Croatia wanted to give their legendary player Luka Modric a proper send-off for everything he has done for the nation. Even though they didn't make it to the final, winning a bronze medal to add to his collection of honours and trophies would cement his legacy as one of the marvellous players of the game.

Whereas the Moroccan football team made their entire nation proud as they became the first African nation ever to qualify for the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup. Losing to France in the semifinals knocked them out of the race for the trophy, but even they would have loved to go home with some silverware around their necks.

The third-place playoff game took place at the Khalifa International Stadium at 830 p.m. (IST). With possession almost evenly balanced at 51%-49%, Croatia struck an early blow to Morocco in the 7th minute of the game as Joko Gvardiol scored via a beautiful diving header, giving Croatia a 1-0 lead.However, Morocco pulled back in the 9th minute of the game as Achraf Dari scored a header that was converted from a free-kick to help Morocco level with Croatia at 1-1, adding more intensity to the game. This match seemed to be a see-saw game as Croatia scored again in the 42nd minute of the game as Mislav Ori hit the post and the ball went into the net, putting Croatia in the lead 2-1.

The game plan for Croatia was simple in the second half. They had to defend till full time, as luck seemed to be on their side as the full-time whistle was blown and Croatia went home with the bronze medals. However, Morocco was given a huge round of applause and praise for having come this far in the tournament and making their whole nation proud.

Both teams celebrated with their fans after the game, which ended a memorable tournament for both teams.

Croatia captain Luka Modric will go down as one of the greats of the FIFA World Cup as he led Croatia to a silver medal in the last World Cup and a bronze medal in this edition of the FIFA World Cup, defining and leading the "Golden Generation of Croatia."

Morocco establishes itself as a team of the future and is definitely a nation to keep an eye on in the football world.