Qatar Data: Croatia end World Cup journey on good foot
Their opponents from Croatia were not too pleased before the match with the information that the man chosen to referee the game was also of Arab origin - the local Qatari Abdulrahman Al Jassim, who, moreover, had only officiated one match at the whole competition so far.
In spite of one evidently denied penalty for the European team, Croatia confirmed their position as the slight favourites and took the bronze medal from Qatar. Let’s take a look at the match from a data perspective.
While the opening match between these two teams at this World Cup produced a goalless draw, this time the wait for goals was not long at all. And that was to be expected as in the previous two World Cups the first goals in the bronze medal matches occurred within the opening five minutes. Croatia’s Joško Gvardiol opened the scoring this time in the seventh minute after a set piece and Ivan Perišić's headed assist.
This was followed less than two minutes later by another defender Achraf Dari scoring at the other end of the field also after a direct free kick. The last time a central defender scored in the medal match of a world cup was in the 2006 final when Italy's Marco Materazzi scored the winner. The winning goal in this game fell in the first half, with Mislav Orsic firing the decisive blow for the Balkan country with a deft finish. After the break, the Moroccans visibly ran out of steam and could not find a way back.
The decline in the African team's strength was understandable, as three injured defenders Saiss, Aguerd and Mazraoui did not play in the game, while other defenders El Yamiq and Dari also withdrew during the match due to injuries. The iron man of the Moroccan defensive line was clearly Achraf Hakimi, who started in all their matches. In his debut appearance in a world cup medal match, the right-back recorded four successful tackles, with a total of 27 for the whole tournament, the most in a world cup since 2014 when Argentine Javier Mascherano made 30.
According to the statistics, it was an evenly matched game at Khalifa International Stadium. As you can see in the bottom three lines, both teams recorded an almost identical number of passes, slightly under 500. There was a similar ratio in the number of attacks too, with the victorious Croats making five more than Morocco.
37-year-old Luka Modric's name was the most frequently mentioned in connection with the Croatian national team throughout the tournament, but the team playing in checkered jerseys has at least two other heroes.
The first is centre-back Josko Gvardiol, the 20-year-old defender scored one goal in the bronze medal match and was once again superb defensively. He finished the tournament with a record of 37 clearances, the best in the tournament in this statistic. It seems extremely unlikely that any of the finalists will dislodge him from the top spot in this metric.
The second name is Ivan Perišić. A key man in coach Dalic's lineup, he has started every match, and in his last performance, he honestly manned the entire left side of the field. Although usually a winger by profession, Perišić was also an indispensable defensive player at this tournament. He also notched one assist, making him the second most productive player in the last three World Cups. In those tournaments, he scored six goals and registered five assists, bettered only by Lionel Messi.
Perisic's importance throughout the tournament and in his final performance was confirmed by Croatia's attacking thirds in the bronze medal match. 53% of their attacking forays, more than half, were led by the Croats down Perisic's left flank. The 33-year-old combined with Mislav Orsic on that side for the whole match, and it was from that side that Orsic scored the winning goal.
Croatia has qualified for six World Cups since it declared independence from Yugoslavia, winning medals three times. Their incredible success consists of a bronze in France in 1998, silver in Russia in 2018 and now another bronze in Qatar this year.
See Croatia vs Morocco at Flashscore
Thank you for joining us for the penultimate Qatar Data. The final edition, of course, awaits tomorrow, after the tournament's climax in the form of the final between Argentina and France.