Croatia beats Morocco 2-1 for 3rd place... K League alumnus Orsic scores winning goal

Kr?ic of Croatia cheering after scoring the winning goal against Morocco.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] The match between Croatia and Morocco in the World Cup third-place playoff ended with Croatia's victory. Misilapeu Orsic, a former K League player, played a decisive role in the win.

On the 18th at midnight (Korean time), Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 in the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup third-place match held at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar. With this result, Croatia secured third place in the Qatar World Cup, while Morocco finished fourth. Croatia received $27 million (35.4 billion KRW) and Morocco $25 million (32.8 billion KRW) as prize money based on their rankings.

That day, Croatia deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation. Livaja was positioned at the front, supported by Orsic, Mayer, and Kramaric behind him. Kovacic and Modric formed the midfield, while the back four consisted of Perisic, Gvardiol, Stal, and Stanisic. Livakovic guarded the goal.

In response, Morocco used a 4-3-3 formation. Boufal, En-Nesyri, and Ziyech formed the front three, with Sabiri, Amrabat, and El Kaabi in midfield. The back four were Ala, El Yamiq, Dari, and Hakimi, and Bounou wore the goalkeeper gloves.

The opening goal came in the 7th minute of the first half for Croatia. From a free-kick situation, Perisic delivered a pass that Gvardiol ran onto and struck the net.

The equalizer came two minutes later, also from a free-kick. In the 9th minute, Ziyech curled a free-kick from the right with his left foot, the ball bounced off Mayer’s head, and Dari headed it into the net.

Afterwards, intense exchanges took place as both sides targeted each other’s goal. Then, in the 42nd minute of the first half, Orsic’s right-footed shot from outside the penalty box shook the net. The first half ended with Croatia leading 2-1.

In the second half, both teams made substitutions. Morocco brought on Unahi in the 11th minute seeking a turnaround, while Croatia replaced the injured Andrej Kramaric with Nikola Vlasic. Although the game seemed to calm down briefly, as time passed, Croatia’s superiority in stamina became evident. Croatia exploited Morocco’s increasingly pressured defense with the light movements of their attackers. Ultimately, Croatia maintained their one-goal lead and won 2-1.

Orsic stood out in the match. Playing until the 49th minute of the second half, Orsic demonstrated influence throughout the attack and led the team to third place with the winning goal. Formerly active in the K League, Orsic is well known to domestic fans under the name Orshan. He began his career in 2015 with Jeonnam Dragons and later played for Ulsan Hyundai. Building on his success in the K League, he joined the prestigious Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb in 2018 and was called up to the Croatian national team the following year. In his first-ever World Cup, Orsic made his presence felt with 1 goal and 2 assists in 6 matches during this tournament.

The final between Argentina and France will be held at midnight on the 19th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.