World Cup 2022: Reasons for Morocco to be confident of beating Croatia

Walid Regragui's side became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals earlier this month, but their dream run was brought to an end with a 2-0 defeat to France in the semi-finals.

Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani both struck for Les Bleus to force the Atlas Lions to battle for bronze, but they will nevertheless leave Qatar as the most successful team from their continent in the history of the World Cup.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at three reasons for Morocco to be confident of ending their miracle World Cup campaign with a podium finish.

Defensive mastery

Keeping teams at bay has been a feature of Morocco's astounding run to the semi-finals, and Regragui's side entered the final four having not conceded to an opposing player in their five previous matches, with the only goal they shipped coming via Nayef Aguerd.

That all changed when Hernandez's fifth-minute acrobatic effort flew into the back of the net, but Morocco will look back fondly on their defensive resilience that none of Belgium, Spain or Portugal had an answer to, and Croatia only had five shots in their previous group-stage showdown.

Backline injuries bedevilled Regragui before and during the semi-final with France, as Aguerd, Romain Saiss and Noussair Mazraoui all exacerbated their existing problems, but their deputies were all largely up to the task on Wednesday night.

The raucous Morocco support should have complete faith in Achraf Dari, Yahia Attiyat-Allah and Jawad El Yamiq to quell a shot-shy Croatia attacking line, and the Atlas Lions could join an elite crowd of seven teams to have previously kept five clean sheets at a single World Cup.

Croatia profligacy

Before shipping three to an unstoppable Argentina in the semi-finals, Croatia also received high praise for their staunch rearguard action at the World Cup, but it has been a much different story for the Checkered Ones at the other end of the field.

The 2018 runners-up did manage to put four past a hapless Canada in the group stage, but they only managed to make the net ripple once against Japan and had to rely on a deflected Bruno Petkovic effort to save their bacon against Brazil.

It is a different story from the penalty spot, but Croatia have lacked a consistent recipe for attacking success in Qatar, with neither Andrej Kramaric, Marko Livaja nor Petkovic - despite his crucial strike against Brazil - setting the world alight for Dalic and co.

As mentioned, Croatia were limited to a mere five shots when they tackled Morocco in the group stage, and their tally of 0.90 goals every 90 minutes at the World Cup is the fifth-worst out of all the knockout nations, only ahead of the USA, Australia, Poland and the Atlas Lions themselves.

Midfield maestros

In a World Cup blessed with breakout stars, Morocco can proudly boast to possess two of them, as Sofyan Amrabat and Azzedine Ounahi's agents rub their hands with glee in the anticipation of big-money moves next year.

The one-man screen of Amrabat could depart the World Cup as the player to have recovered possession on the most occasions - doing so a tournament-high 51 times so far - and his crunching challenge on Kylian Mbappe during the semi-final was applauded by all corners.

Meanwhile, Angers starlet Ounahi has successfully completed 10 of his 13 take-ons at the Qatar tournament - also a record for the current World Cup, and the pair now prepare for an intriguing engine room battle against the famed Croatia midfield.

However, the Checkered Ones' triumvirate of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic may be broken up due to an injury that the latter sustained in the semi-finals, so Ounahi and Amrabat can feel that little bit more confident of coming up trumps in the centre of the park.

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World Cup 2022: Reasons for Croatia to be confident of beating Morocco