Croatia bags third place in FIFA WC '22, defeats Morocco 2-1
Al Rayyan, Dec 17: Luka Modric led Croatia to third place in what was likely the midfield great's last appearance at the World Cup.
The runners-up from four years ago secured another medal by beating Morocco 2-1 in the third-place match on Saturday.
Mislav Orsic scored the decisive goal shortly before halftime at Khalifa International Stadium 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.
Josko Gvardiol put Croatia ahead in the seventh minute, but Achraf Dari evened the score in the ninth.
It is the second time Croatia has taken third place. The team also achieved that feat in its first World Cup as an independent nation 1998.
After becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals, Morocco's tournament ended in two losses. But the 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.
The third-place match is considered by some to be a meaningless exhibition. Even Morocco coach Walid Regragui described it as a "booby prize" in the buildup. But neither team lacked motivation in a fiercely contested game between two nations that few expected to go so far.
That was underlined by a host of players needing to be substituted because of injury in the second half as Morocco pushed for an equalizer.
The teams had already played out 0-0 draw in the group stage and had made to the semifinals on the back of tough defenses, with a combined six shutouts. Goals weren't a problem this time.
Perhaps that was because of the relative freedom of playing in a game with supposedly little at stake. Another factor for Morocco, at least, was the absence of three key defenders, Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui.
The impact of those absences was felt when Croatia took the lead off Gvardiol's diving header. In a slick move, Ivan Perisic flicked a free kick into the middle of the penalty box and the center back did the rest.
Morocco responded two minutes later when Lovro Majer inadvertently helped on Hakim Ziyech's free kick and Dari headed in to even the score.
Croatia, however, was back in front three minutes before halftime.
Orsic picked up the ball on the left of the box and curled a shot toward the top corner. Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou got a touch on the ball, but could only push it onto the post on its way into the net.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
