Doha: Croatia finished their World Cup campaign by beating Morocco 2-1 in the third-place play-off at the Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday. 

Croatia scored the opener through Josko Gvardiol's brilliant header in the 7th minute. However, Morocco instantly reacted and equalised through Achraf Dari's header from a free-kick in the 9th minute. Mislav Orsic scored the decisive goal shortly before halftime to ensure Modric finished on a winning note, if this does turn out to be his last World Cup match. At the age of 37, that seems likely, even if there are hopes he will lead his country at the 2024 European Championship.

Starting off the match, Moroccon goalkeeper Yassine Bounou almost scored an own goal after miscuing his own pass, but it went out for a corner. In the 7th minute, Croatia took the lead through Joško Gvardiol's brilliant header from a free-kick. Luka Modric's lovely free-kick from outside the box was cushioned into the middle by Ivan Perisic for RB Leipzig's defender to find the opener. 

However, their lead was short-lived after Gvardiol gave away a free-kick outside the box in the 9th minute. Hakim Ziyech, who took the penalty, was headed into the back of the net by Achraf Dari to find the equaliser for Morocco. 

Croatia created several clear-cut chances after Morocco equalised. Luka Modric almost handed Croatia the lead in the 24th minute, but the goalkeeper Bounou shovelled the ball away before recovering to prevent Marko Livaja from rebounding in.

In the 24th minute, Modric's strike on target was poorly cleared by the Moroccan goalkeeper, who spilt the ball before a charging Perisic in front of the goal. However, the keeper got down and palmed the ball away for safety to deny Perisic from tapping in. 

Meanwhile, Morocco created few chances on the other end. In the 30th minute, Ziyech and Hakimi played a wonderful passing game down the wing. However, Hakimi's cross from the end narrowly missed an unmarked Boufal in front of the goal. In the 37th minute, Ziyech's corner was flicked on at the front post by Youssef, but to no avail, as his header flashed wide past the goal.

In the 42nd minute, Croatia breaks the deadlock through a sensational strike from Mislav Orsic. However, Morocco slowly came back to life in the later stages of the second half after Ziyech was shifted to midfield. 

Croatia started the second half looking to increase their lead. Orsic nearly scored another in the 47th minute after he cut inside from the left and attempted a shot on goal. However, the ball deflected off Jawad El Yamiq and hit the side netting. In the 74th minute, Gvardiol was fouled inside the box, but the referee refused to entertain Croatia's demand for a penalty. On the other end, the referee dismissed the call for a penalty after Hakimi was brought down inside the box. 

Meanwhile, Croatian Goalkeeper Dominik Livaković pulled off a sensational save in the 75th minute to deny En-Nesyri from finding the equalising goal for Morocco. In the 86th minute, Kovacic missed a sitter in front of the goal to increase the lead for Croatia. 

After becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals, Morocco’s tournament ended in two losses. But then team's achievements in Qatar will be remembered for the outpouring of pride among Arab nations.

The World Cup final between defending champion France and Argentina is scheduled for Sunday at Lusail Stadium.