MX23RW : Thursday, November 21 12:40:22| >> :600:92774:92774:
[monks data]
Croatia national football team
World Cup | Third-Place Playoff
Dec 17, 2022 at 3pm UK
Khalifa International Stadium
Morocco national football team

Croatia
2 - 1
Morocco

Gvardiol (7'), Orsic (42')
FT(HT: 2-1)
Dari (9')
Ounahi (69'), Amallah (84')

How Croatia could line up against Morocco

How Croatia could line up against Morocco
© Reuters
Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Croatia could line up for Saturday's World Cup 2022 third-placed playoff with Morocco.

Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic must decide whether to risk Josko Gvardiol and Marcelo Brozovic for Saturday's World Cup 2022 third-placed playoff with Morocco at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Inter Milan lynchpin Brozovic had to come off early in the second half against Argentina with discomfort, while Gvardiol has needed injections to play through the pain of a foot problem.

Dalic has insisted that he will put out an XI capable of coming up trumps, but he is also not prepared to rush Gvardiol and Brozovic, and only the former was able to train on Friday.

Dejan Lovren could potentially be partnered by Josip Sutalo in front of Dominik Livakovic, who could be inundated with offers after a remarkable World Cup campaign, but Gvardiol has seemingly recovered adequately enough to keep his place.

Borna Sosa only lasted 45 minutes in the semi-finals following his return from illness, but the Stuttgart man should continue on the left as Josip Stanisic earns a rare start on the opposite side, with Josip Juranovic also absent from training on Friday.

Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic will be joined by a new face in the midfield if Brozovic is ruled out, and the defensive-minded Kristijan Jakic may be preferred over Lovro Majer.

Mario Pasalic was rather ineffective against Argentina and could now cede his place on the right to Nikola Vlasic, although Mislav Orsic is also pushing for inclusion out wide.

Andrej Kramaric has started all six of Croatia's World Cup games and will hope to make that seven here, although his spot is far from secure, while Ivan Perisic will aim for a seventh World Cup goal to take him past Davor Suker at the top of the Checkered Ones' all-time charts.

Croatia possible starting lineup: Livakovic; Stanisic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Jakic, Kovacic; Vlasic, Kramaric, Perisic

> Click here to see how Morocco could line up for this match

ID:502004:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect4377:No Data Analysis info
Game History

How you voted: Croatia vs Morocco

Croatia
49.4%
Morocco
50.6%
1124
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Croatia players line up before a Nations League game in September 2022
Read Next:
Croatia World Cup 2022 preview - prediction, fixtures, squad, star player
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Netherlands Netherlands32107
Q Senegal flag Senegal32016
3 Ecuador flag Ecuador31114
4 Qatar Qatar30030

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England32107
Q United States USA31205
3 Iran Iran31023
4 Wales flag Wales30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Argentina Argentina32016
Q Poland Poland31114
3 Mexico Mexico31114
4 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia31023

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France32016
Q Australia Australia32016
3 Tunisia Tunisia31114
4 Denmark Denmark30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Japan Japan32016
Q Spain Spain31114
3 Germany Germany31114
4 Costa Rica flag Costa Rica31023

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Morocco Morocco32107
Q Croatia Croatia31205
3 Belgium Belgium31114
4 Canada Canada30030

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Brazil Brazil32016
Q Switzerland Switzerland32016
3 Cameroon flag Cameroon31114
4 Serbia Serbia30121

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Republic of Korea South Korea31114
3 Uruguay flag Uruguay31114
4 Ghana flag Ghana31023


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!