Croatia has ended their World Cup campaign with the pride of claiming third place in a 2-1 win against Morocco, which marked the end of a journey but also promised a bright future.
Key points:
- Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic scored for Croatia
- Their coach said Saturday's bronze-medal game was the tournament highlight
- Morocco was the first African or Arabic team to reach the last four at a World Cup
Croatia, who were runners-up in 2018, prevailed with goals by Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic to end their World Cup on a high as Luka Modric possibly bid farewell to the soccer extravaganza.
Croatia beat Brazil in the quarter-finals, but for coach Zlatko Dalic, Saturday's bronze-medal game was the highlight of the tournament.
"In any case, the last match we played. If you remember, I had said if we had lost, it would have been a disaster," Dalic said. He also paid tribute to former Serbia midfielder Sinisa Mihajlovic after his death on Friday.
"It was a difficult, great match. I want to extend my congratulations to Morocco, they put up a great fight until the last minute, despite the fatigue," he said.
"They can be proud, they remind me of us four years ago. We're among the best teams in the world."
Croatia can now look forward to the future with confidence.
"It's the end of a cycle for us, the end of a journey. Tonight's match and the win is the moment of the tournament for us," Dalic said.
"Yes this is the last World Cup for some of my players today due to their age.
"But we have young players in the team and it is great for Croatia.
"We have many of the players on the bench, too."
Dalic, however, is still counting on his old guard for the Nations League and the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
"We would not have been that far without our older players," he said.
"We have a great future, Croatia has nothing to fear. Is it the end of an era for a generation?
"Well, we still have the Nations League and the Euro qualifiers. All I know is that Croatia have a bright future."
Croatia qualified for the Nations League final four, to be played in June with Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
Morocco's win for Africa
Morocco will leave Qatar proud and happy after becoming the first African or Arabic team to reach the last four at a World Cup.
Coach Walid Regragui lauded his young players, saying they did everything he asked of them in the tournament, having beaten elite teams including Belgium, Portugal and Spain on their way to the semi-finals.
"We wanted to bring joy to our fans but we're still happy, we're among the four best teams in the world," Regragui said.
"We provided everyone with a good show, we never gave up. Congratulations to Croatia, they deserve their third place. We are a young team that is still learning."
Regragui said that his side, who had the best defensive record in Qatar before losing 2-0 to France on Wednesday, felt the physical toll of an intense tournament after playing their seventh match.
"Sure, I am a little disappointed by this second consecutive defeat, but we did everything that we could," Regragui said.
"Physically it was difficult, our players got tired, it was very intense. We wanted to make the fans more proud than they already were, that's it."
Morocco's campaign in Qatar gave African football a huge morale boost after none of the five African sides made it out of the group phase at Russia 2018.
"I think we showed our strength, we showed that African football is prepared to face the top teams in the world with efficiency and playing at the highest level," Regragui told a news conference.
"We probably will only realise what we accomplished in Qatar after four years, in the next World Cup. The pressure will also be greater, there will be expectation around us. It's natural.
"We made a great achievement but we want to do it again. It will not be easy but that's the objective."
Regragui said he hoped their performance in Qatar would leave a lasting legacy for African football.
"Through experience you get stronger and I hope we learn and grow and build in our children in Africa a football DNA that lasts," he said.
"We have now allowed children to dream, dream of being footballers and going to the World Cup. That is priceless. As for the impact in our country, we have set the bar high.
"I'm sure that in 15 years an African team will win the World Cup."
Morocco's campaign in Qatar gave African football a huge morale boost after none of the five African sides made it out of the group phase at Russia 2018.
"I think we showed our strength, we showed that African football is prepared to face the top teams in the world with efficiency and playing at the highest level," Regragui told a news conference.
"We probably will only realise what we accomplished in Qatar after four years, in the next World Cup. The pressure will also be greater, there will be expectation around us. It's natural.
"We made a great achievement but we want to do it again. It will not be easy but that's the objective."
Regragui said he hoped their performance in Qatar would leave a lasting legacy for African football.
"Through experience you get stronger and I hope we learn and grow and build in our children in Africa a football DNA that lasts," he said.
"We have now allowed children to dream, dream of being footballers and going to the World Cup. That is priceless. As for the impact in our country, we have set the bar high.
"I'm sure that in 15 years an African team will win the World Cup."
Reuters
Story first published on ABC News