First game in group F between Croatia and Morocco ends goalless in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Here’s the reaction from the match:
Luka Modric and co will be frustrated after they failed to grab anything more than a point despite Morocco being underdogs. Another unpredictable result this World Cup that saw heart and desire from the Atlas Lions, was praised by Croatian Centre half Josko Gvardiol: “It was a hard match, they defended well, and it was hard to find space”.
The 2018 World Cup runners up came close to scoring many times and controlled possession for most of the game, but simply lacked the cutting edge to break the deadlock. It seems Croatia missed out on the cutting edge they had in Mario Mandzukic they had in the last World Cup, with the star man in midfield Matteo Kovacic suggesting: “It wasn’t our best performance, and we have to improve. We lacked being decisive on attack and needed to get forward more”.
The Checkered Ones failed to capitalise on their chances against a side with just two World Cup victories under their belt. Captain and 2018 Ballon D’or winner Luka Modric believes they should have opened up more and showed more tenacity: “It was a tough match, especially the first half. The last 10-15 minutes of the first half we started to play better. We were better in the second half, and it is a shame we couldn’t score”.
Part of the problem also came from an injury to Vlasic, who was having a great game before he came off injured. The Croatian manager believes this has a big effect on the game too: “We were scared to make mistakes and lacked depth. Today we opted for more experienced players in defence. Unfortunately, Nikola (Vlašić) was injured in the first half”. The midfielder showed determination and courage that the rest of the squad lacked for most of the game and could have been the difference Croatia needed to grab the 3 points.
Croatia hopes to see a change in attitude ahead of their next fixture on Sunday against Canada.
