Croatia 2-1 Morocco: Modric signs on World Cup podium as Gvardiol and Orsic clinch bronze

Luka Modric concluded his World Cup career with the consolation prize of a bronze medal at Qatar 2022 as Croatia beat Morocco 2-1 in the third-place game on Saturday.

Truly astonishing goals from Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic saw four-year-old runners-up Russia end this campaign on a high, having lost to Argentina in the semi-finals.

Croatia are hoping 37-year-old captain Modric decides to play and participate in their Euro 2024 campaign, but it was a World Cup goodbye for the midfielder of Real Madrid.

Gvardiol put Croatia ahead in the seventh minute at the Khalifa International Stadium. Although Achraf Dari brought Morocco level quickly, Orsic's brilliant finish just before half time proved to be the game winner.

Gvardiol's goal was a great header into the left corner after Lovro Majer's free kick into the penalty area was deftly headed into the penalty spot by Ivan Perisic.

Morocco were level just 112 seconds later, however, with Dari applying a close-range finish with his header after Hakim Ziyech's free-kick from the right flank was looped in by a heavy touch from the Croatian Majer .

Yassine Bounou almost put a pass into his own net from the start, but the Moroccan goalkeeper was quick enough to prevent a low shot from Modric. However, he was beaten in the 42nd minute by an exquisite finish from Orsic, who sent the ball over the goalkeeper just inside the left edge of the penalty area, the shot coming from the far post .

A deflected shot from 20 yards out from Orsic rocked the side netting early in the second half as Croatia sought a third goal against the side who became the first World Cup semi-finalists in Africa.

Gvardiol then wanted a penalty after being foiled by Sofyan Amrabat, before Morocco had their big chance, with Youssef En-Nesyri denied at close range by Dominik Livakovic. He also had another last-minute opener for Morocco, but sent a header just over the bar. They had to settle for fourth place, still a huge achievement.

What does this mean? The same old story, but also the end of an era

Croatia maintained Europe's dominance in this game, with European sides now having won 11 consecutive games for third place at the World Cup, with Brazil's 2-1 victory over Italy in 1978 being the last time a team from another continent won honours.

It was Modric's 19th and final World Cup game of his illustrious career. In Qatar, he became the first outfield player aged 37 or older to play more than six games at a single World Cup.

While Modric has confirmed this will be his last rodeo on this stage, the same is likely true for Perisic, who turns 34 in February. Here the pair have completed three consecutive World Cups (2014, 2018, 2022) starting every game (all 17) for Croatia. Only Lionel Messi (also 17) has started as many World Cup games in this period.

Gvardiol puts Messi's nightmare behind him

Gvardiol, who was given a torrid time by Messi in the semi-finals, made sure to end his campaign on a high. His goal made him Croatia's youngest goalscorer at the World Cup at the age of 20 years and 328 days.

Perisic's assist has taken him to 11 goals since the start of the 2014 World Cup, with only Messi (16) having been more involved in the World Cup during that time.

Hakimi continues to roar for the Atlas Lions

Achraf Hakimi, like Modric, wasn't the player to put in a stunning performance this time around, but the Paris Saint-Germain right-back contributed to another powerful change for Morocco.

He had a team-record four tackles to take his tournament tally to 27 - the most by a player in a single World Cup since Javier Mascherano made 30 for Argentina at the tournament in 2014.

Opta Key Stats:

– Croatia have lost just two of their 14 matches in total in the last two World Cup tournaments (W6 D6): against France in the 2018 final (2-4) and Argentina in semi-final this year (0-3).– Morocco's two defeats at the 2022 World Cup came in matches where they had their two highest possession figures in the tournament (61% against France and 49% against Croatia).– Prior to these two matches, Morocco had averaged just 31% possession and unbeaten in five games (W3 D2).– Croatia drew 0-0 with Morocco on MD1, before defeating them beat in this match - it was only the third time this century for a team to face an opponent twice in the same World Cup tournament without losing a game, after Brazil in 2002 (against Turkey) and the Belgium in 2018 (against England).– It was the first game of the 2022 World Cup to see both teams score in the first 10 minutes of play.

What's next?

The European Championship qualifiers kick off in March, with Croatia taking on Wales and Turkey in their...