The conclusion of each and every FIFA World Cup has the same one victor and thirty-one losers. However, out of the 31, the team that comes in second place in the final and loses will have the greatest regrets. It is a difficult pill to chew to be aware that you were just one step away from being a part of a football legend. Following their defeat to France in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, Croatia will make their comeback to the competition and will begin their campaign against the African powers, Morocco.
The Vatreni came within a hair’s breadth of winning the World Cup, and they are coming back to take the last step toward their goal. Zlatko Dalic, the team’s manager, has put together a powerful roster with more than enough skill to match or possibly exceed the accomplishments of the last World Cup. Luka Modric, who is maturing beautifully like a great wine and led Real Madrid to a double championship just this past season, will serve as the team’s captain once again, just like he did in the last World Cup.
The squad also has a number of very gifted young players, such as Lovro Majer, who is seen as Modric’s potential successor. In addition, the club boasts Luka Sucic, a promising attacker who plays for Red Bull Salzburg, and Josko Gvardiol, who is considered to be one of the top young defenders.
Defense destroyers
Morocco, a squad whose foundation is centered on defensive steadiness, will stand as an obstacle on their path. As a result of repeated disagreements with players, including Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui, the Moroccan Football Federation decided to fire manager Vahid Halilhodzic, which generated a commotion in the football community. Now the future of the squad rests in the hands of Walid Regragui, who played for the national team in the past. The 45-year-old veteran coach has a track record of success, having led the Moroccan team Wydad AC to the CAF Champions League in the 2021–22 season.
The squad is loaded with notable players like Romain Saiss of Besiktas, Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain, and Youssef En-Nesyri of Sevilla. In spite of the fact that they have such a talented squad, they have been unable to play up to their potential, as seen by their elimination from the most recent AFCON at the hands of Egypt in the quarterfinals.
Latest squad news for Morocco and Croatia
For the next FIFA World Cup, Regragui has chosen a roster of 26 players, several of them are very talented. Amine Harit is the only major player who was not able to make it on the journey to Qatar. The injury occurred in the midfielder’s last game for Marseille before the World Cup, which was played against AS Monaco. Because of this, Morocco’s national park now has a huge hole right in the center of it. Anass Zaroury, who now competes for Burnley in the EFL Championship, has been brought into the team to take his spot.
The following players are projected to start for Morocco: Bounou; Hakimi, Aguero, Saiss, Mazraoui; Amallah, Amrabat, Ounahi; Ziyech, En-Nesyri, and Boufal.
C UPDATE FROM AROUND THE WORLD: CROATIA
DALIC GAVE STRONG SUGGESTIONS THAT KRAMARIC WILL START AGAINST MOROCCO AND SAID THAT THE ONLY SELECTION DILEMMA IS WHO WILL PLAY RW BASED ON WHO WILL LINK UP BEST WITH HIM. KRAMARIC WILL START. SIGH.
— RICHARD WILSON (@HYFPRW) NOVEMBER 18, 2022
The Croatian national team, on the other hand, will compete in the FIFA World Cup with a roster that has an ideal mix of seasoned veterans and promising young players. The fact that there are no players who are injured is a huge weight off of the team’s shoulders. On the defensive side of the ball, the club will depend primarily on Gvardiol and Borna Sosa, the rising star at left-back for VFB Stuttgart. However, there are two areas in which the Croatians seem to be lacking: they do not have a goalkeeper who is trustworthy and a striker who is consistent. Dominik Livakovic of Dinamo Zagreb will start in goal, while Andrej Kramaric of Hoffenheim will occupy the number nine position. This decision was made based on how each player has performed recently.
To ease the sting of their disappointing performance in the last tournament, game-changers Morocco will enter the World Cup. The Atlas Lions finished with just one point after suffering a defeat at the hands of Iran. However, the squad is one of the tournament’s dark horses and has players that, on their day, can be a threat to any of the other teams in the competition. One of these players is Hakim Ziyech, an attacker who now plays for Chelsea. Ziyech will be the primary goal-scorer for the national team.
Luka Modric was 33 years old when Croatia made it to the final of the World Cup, and the midfielder went on to win the Ballon d’Or at the end of the tournament. After a period of four years, it seems that Modric has continued to improve. Even while he may not be as mobile as he once was, his positional awareness has only become better, which helps him control the flow of each game he plays as Regista. The Croatian player needs a significant amount of defensive help, which he will get from his teammates Matteo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic. In addition, Croatia has Lovro Majer, who is capable of performing well off the bench in any match.
Forecasts for the Match Between Morocco and Croatia
Due to the fact that the other two teams in the group, Belgium and Canada, are not easy opponents, this match is very vital for both sides. As a result of this, both Morocco and Croatia will be eager to get off to a strong start and secure a victory in order to make it much simpler for them to advance to the subsequent round.
On the other hand, the Croatian team has a more diverse pool of skills throughout the field, which will give them a significant advantage. football predicts that Croatia will win by a score of 2-1.
