With little at stake, it was great to see Croatia and Morocco making a real game of the contest for third place, ultimately won 2-1 by Croatia.

They were certainly the better side on the day, their intricate and precise passing game proving frustrating for the Atlas Lions, who relied on swift counter attacks.

The emotions on the faces of the Moroccan players during the national anthems were an indication of their wish to end their World Cup campaign on an exclamation mark rather than a full stop.

It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying, and there was plenty of heart and ball skill from the African nation, but it could not make up for the class difference.

The game was entertaining from the start – and a flying one it was.

Croatia had the ball in the net in just the 6th minute from a well-rehearsed free kick taken by Lovro Majer who found the head of Ivan Perišić and he directed it to the arriving ‘masked marvel’ Joško Gvardiol, who headed it home in emphatic style (1-0).

The response was almost immediate and in copycat style as this time Achraf Dari got on the end of a Moroccan free kick to deflect it past star Croatian keeper Dominik Livaković, who could only admire the header but do nothing to stop it (1-1).

There was plenty of cut-and-thrust, half chances and might-have-beens, but the game’s third and final goal would also come in the first half, shortly before the break.

Receiving the ball wide on the left, Mislav Oršić went for placing rather than power and guided the inswinging ball to the far corner, where it bounded into the net off the inside of the post (2-1).

The second half saw a procession of substitutions, some of which were unfortunately due to injuries which one hopes will not see players sidelined for future club duties.

Others were simply to give World Cup opportunities to unused squad members, to add to their CVs.

For Morocco, the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Dari, Sofyan Amrabat, Hakim Ziyech, and Youssef En-Nesyri showed us why they arose as new global stars during the contest.

As for Croatia, it may have been the sad farewell for 37-year Luka Modric, who showed nothing but skill, pace and class throughout the tournament; this game being his 19th World Cup appearance.

I wouldn’t put it past him being at the next one!

Croatia then finish third, after losing in the final to France in the previous edition. Not bad for such a small nation.

#TacklingQatar2022: Manned by soccer fundi Dave Savides, the Corner Shop is the place to be for Soccer World Cup news. Savides, the long-time editor of the Zululand Observer, is tackling the coverage of the world’s greatest footie extravaganza for Caxton Local Media.