Although Croatia and Morocco may not have had a chance to win the World Cup, “immortality” will be on the line when the two sides square off in Saturday’s third-place playoff.
Andrej Kramarić of Croatia, a forward, dispelled the idea that the game at Khalifa International Stadium would be meaningless.
“I think if you ask this question to Moroccan players, I don’t think they will look that way,” he said at a news conference Thursday. “They’re fighting for their lives because if you win a medal at a World Cup you become an immortal hero in your country. That’s the same thing we are going to do.”
Morocco defied the odds to advance to the World Cup semifinals and become the first African team to do so. However, the Atlas Lions’ streak came to an end on Wednesday when they were defeated 2-0 by the reigning champions France.
In 2018, Croatia made it to the final in Russia but lost to Argentina on Tuesday by a score of 3-0.
“Eight of us from (the tournament in) Russia understand that feeling of winning a medal at the World Cup and we have a lot of players who haven’t experienced that and would love to do that because it’s something that will stay with you for the rest of their life,” Kramaric said.
Meanwhile, the final match is scheduled to be played at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on December 18, 2022, the national day of Qatar, and will be contested by Argentina and France.