Last five World Cup third-place play-off games no-one remembers

The date is set, the teams have been decided, but anticipation is nowhere to be seen.

The game we are talking about could of course only be the third-place play-off for the 2022 World Cup.

It is a feature of every modern tournament, in fact only two Word Cups in the history of the competition have not had a third-place play-off game.

But it is also a match few care about, usually anticipation only grows if a host nation is one of the teams involved. So, to give you a reminder for Saturday's clash between Morocco and Croatia, Mirror Football takes a look at the last five third-place play-offs.

2018 - England 0-2 Belgium

The second third-place play-off England were involved in led to defeat for the Three Lions. Boss Gareth Southgate named a much-changed line-up, but his side quickly fell behind when Thomas Meunier slid in ahead of Danny Rose to divert Nacer Chadli's cross past Jordan Pickford.

The Three Lions did fight back, with Toby Alderweireld clearing an Eric Dier effort off the line, but Eden Hazard wrapped up the win with eight minutes to go. Despite the defeat, Southgate insisted he was proud of his team.

"The players gave everything. They never stopped and showed pride in the shirt. I don't think I could have asked any more of them. It was always a huge task for us. We were playing one of the best three teams in the world," he told talkSPORT.

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2014 - Brazil 0-3 Netherlands

The last time a host nation featured in the third-place play-off came eight years ago, when Brazil took on the Netherlands. It was a miserable day for the Selecao though, who saw boss Luiz Felipe Scolari booed by the crowd when his name was read out in the wake of the unforgettable 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals.

They then fell behind after just three minutes when Thiago Silva pulled back Arjen Robben in the box, with Robin van Persie converting the resulting penalty. Just 15 minutes later things went from bad to worse when David Luiz's tame clearance led to Daley Blind firing into the top corner.

Brazil were booed off as they left the pitch at half-time, with the game played at a snail's place after the break.

Georginio Wijnaldium completed the comprehensive win for the Dutch in stoppage time, with the hosts again jeered at the final whistle.

2010 - Uruguay 2-3 Germany

Undoubtedly a thrilling game, Germany claimed a record fourth win in the third-place play-off against Uruguay in South Africa. Thomas Mueller put the Germans ahead after 18 minutes with a goal that would ultimately earn him the Golden Boot, but Edinson Cavani soon equalised for Uruguay.

Diego Forlan then completed the turnaround with a stunning volley five minutes after half-time. Germany were far from dead and buried though and pulled themselves back into the game when Fernando Muslera failed to claim Jerome Boateng's cross, handing Marcell Jansen an easy finish.

There was still time for more drama, with Germany scoring a third when Sami Khedira nodded in from a corner. Though Forlan hit the bar in the second minute of added time, a goal that would have won him the Golden Boot, there was to be no comeback for Uruguay.

2006 - Germany 3-1 Portugal

It was a tournament that sparked renewed success for the Germany national team and they capped it with a win over Portugal to finish third. Both teams named strong line ups, but it was the hosts who dominated, with Bastian Schweinsteiger opening the scoring when he cut in from the left and drilled in a swerving shot.

Schweinsteiger then saw a free-kick sliced into his own net by Armando Petit, before the midfielder sealed the win with a rasping shot from 25 yards. Nuno Gomes scored a late consolation, but it was Germany's day, with assistant boss Joachim Low hailing the party atmosphere.

"It's an indescribable feeling to see the way the people are celebrating this here. It's hard to imagine a bigger party even if we had won the World Cup. We're delighted that we've accomplished what we have against all the resistance," he said.

2002 - South Korea 2-3 Turkey

The 2002 World Cup is legendary for its shocks and two of the biggest were South Korea and Turkey reaching the semi-finals. They faced each other in the third-place play-off, with Turkey winning a classic.

They went ahead after just 10 seconds when Hakan Sukur capitalised on an error to finish smartly. He then set up Ilhan Mansiz twice before the break to hand Turkey total control of the game.

South Korea had pulled one back through Eul-Yong Lee's free-kick from 25 yards out. Though they pushed forward after the break, they were not able to score a second until the final minute of the match through Song Chong-Gug.