Coming so soon after the heartbreak of World Cup semifinal defeat, no team relishes the prospect of a third-place playoff.
But Croatia and Morocco must now dust themselves down before doing battle to earn some sort of recognition for their achievements in Qatar.
Speaking after missing out on a place in the final, both coaches suggested that they view this game as far more than a tournament-ending friendly.
So how will their teams look for this one? Below are the predicted lineups.
Croatia vs Morocco lineups
Morocco coach Walid Regragui is hoping for one more major exertion from his players after describing their loss to France in the World Cup semifinals as a “step too far”.
The Atlas Lions have been the surprise package in Qatar but will only have third place to play for after being ousted by the world champions.
Regragui said: “At a World Cup this was perhaps one step too far. Not in terms of quality or tactics, but physically we came up short.
“We had too many players at 60 per cent or 70 per cent. With all our squad fit we could have caused them a lot of problems.”
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Croatia predicted starting 11
(4-3-3, right to left): 1. Livakovic (GK) — 22. Juranovic, 6. Lovren, 20. Gvardiol, 19. Sosa — 10. Modric, 11. Brozovic, 8. Kovacic — 15. Pasalic, 9. Kramaric, 4. Perisic
- Injured: None
- Suspended: None
Zlatko Dalic has stuck with a largely settled team throughout this tournament and, having made clear just how keen he is to secure third place, he will probably retain his big hitters for this game.
That likely includes Marcelo Brozovic, who was withdrawn early against Argentina only as a precaution, according to his coach.
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Morocco predicted starting 11
(4-3-3, right to left): 1. Bounou (GK) — 2. Hakimi, 20. Dari, 18. El Yamiq, 25. Attiyat Allah — 8. Ounahi, 4. Amrabat, 15. Amallah — 7. Ziyech, 19. En-Nesyri, 17. Boufal
- Injured: Aguerd, Saiss, Mazraoui
- Suspended: none
Morocco lost defender Nayef Aguerd to injury moments prior to kickoff against France, while Romain Saiss was withdrawn with just 20 minutes gone and Noussair Mazraoui at halftime.
As such, expect changes in a backline that has seen plenty of them through this tournament, with Achraf Dari, Yahya Attiyat Allah and Selim Amallah likely to benefit.
Walid Cheddira could also be in contention after serving a one-match suspension for a red card earned in the quarterfinals.
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Croatia vs Morocco World Cup squads
Here are the names on Croatia and Morocco’s World Cup squad lists in Qatar (caps correct as of start of Qatar 2022):
Croatia World Cup squad
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Dominik Livakovic | Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | 27 | 34 |
| GK | 12 | Ivo Grbic | Atletico Madrid (SPA) | 26 | 2 |
| GK | 23 | Ivica Ivusic | Osijek (CRO) | 27 | 5 |
| DEF | 2 | Josip Stanisic | Bayern Munich (GER) | 22 | 7 |
| DEF | 3 | Borna Barisic | Rangers (SCO) | 29 | 28 |
| DEF | 5 | Martin Erlic | Sassuolo (ITA) | 24 | 4 |
| DEF | 6 | Dejan Lovren | Zenit St Petersburg (ITA) | 33 | 72 |
| DEF | 19 | Borna Sosa | VfB Stuttgart (GER) | 24 | 8 |
| DEF | 20 | Josko Gvardiol | RB Leipzig (GER) | 20 | 12 |
| DEF | 21 | Domagoj Vida | AEK Athens (GRE) | 33 | 100 |
| DEF | 22 | Josip Juranovic | Celtic (SCO) | 27 | 21 |
| DEF | 24 | Josip Sutalo | Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | 22 | 3 |
| MID | 7 | Lovro Majer | Rennes (FRA) | 24 | 11 |
| MID | 8 | Mateo Kovacic | Chelsea (ENG) | 28 | 84 |
| MID | 10 | Luka Modric | Real Madrid (SPA) | 37 | 155 |
| MID | 25 | Luka Sucic | RB Salzburg (AUS) | 20 | 4 |
| MID | 11 | Marcelo Brozovic | Inter Milan (ITA) | 29 | 77 |
| MID | 13 | Nikola Vlasic | Torino (ITA) | 25 | 42 |
| MID | 15 | Mario Pasalic | Atalanta (ITA) | 27 | 43 |
| MID | 26 | Kristijan Jakic | Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) | 25 | 4 |
| FWD | 4 | Ivan Perisic | Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) | 33 | 116 |
| FWD | 9 | Andrej Kramaric | Hoffenheim (GER) | 31 | 74 |
| FWD | 14 | Marko Livaja | Hadjuk Split (CRO) | 29 | 14 |
| FWD | 16 | Bruno Petkovic | Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | 28 | 23 |
| FWD | 17 | Ante Budimir | Osasuna (ENG) | 31 | 15 |
| FWD | 18 | Mislav Orsic | Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | 29 | 21 |
Morocco World Cup squad
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Yassine Bono | Sevilla (SPA) | 31 | 45 |
| GK | 12 | Munir | Al Wehda (KSA) | 33 | 43 |
| GK | 22 | Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti | Wydad (MOR) | 26 | 3 |
| DEF | 2 | Achraf Hakimi | Real Madrid (SPA) | 24 | 53 |
| DEF | 3 | Noussair Mazraoui | Bayern Munich (GER) | 24 | 14 |
| DEF | 6 | Romain Saiss | Besiktas (TUR) | 32 | 65 |
| DEF | 5 | Nayef Aguerd | West Ham (ENG) | 26 | 21 |
| DEF | 20 | Achraf Dari | Brest (FRA) | 23 | 4 |
| DEF | 18 | Jawad El-Yamiq | Valladolid (SPA) | 30 | 11 |
| DEF | 25 | Yahya Attiat-Allah | Wydad (MOR) | 27 | 1 |
| DEF | 23 | Badr Benoun | Qatar SC (QAT) | 29 | 3 |
| MID | 4 | Sofyan Amrabat | Fiorentina (ITA) | 26 | 38 |
| MID | 15 | Selim Amallah | Standard Liege (BEL) | 25 | 23 |
| MID | 11 | Abdelhamid Sabiri | Sampdoria (ITA) | 25 | 2 |
| MID | 8 | Azzedine Ounahi | Angers (FRA) | 22 | 9 |
| MID | 24 | Bilel El Khanouss | Genk (BEL) | 18 | 0 |
| MID | 26 | Yahya Jabrane | Wydad (MOR) | 31 | 4 |
| FWD | 7 | Hakim Ziyech | Chelsea (ENG) | 24 | 42 |
| FWD | 19 | Youssef En-Nesyri | Sevilla (SPA) | 25 | 49 |
| FWD | 17 | Sofiane Boufal | Angers (FRA) | 29 | 31 |
| FWD | 14 | Zaharia Aboukhlal | Toulouse (FRA) | 22 | 12 |
| FWD | 16 | Abdessamad Ezzalzouli | Osasuna (SPA) | 20 | 1 |
| FWD | 10 | Anass Zaroury | Burnley (ENG) | 22 | 0 |
| FWD | 13 | Ilias Chair | QPR (ENG) | 25 | 10 |
| FWD | 9 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Ittihad (KSA) | 31 | 17 |
| FWD | 21 | Walid Cheddira | Bari (ITA) | 24 | 2 |
Credit: sportingnews.com