Croatia have secured third place at the World Cup in Qatar after defeating tournament sensation Morocco 2-1 on Saturday.

Josko Gvardiol dived to head in his first goal of the World Cup and break the deadlock for Croatia in the seventh minute, but celebrations didn’t last long as Achraf Dari also used his head to equalize just a minute later. But the Croatians had the final say still in the first half when Mislav Orsic pulled out a stunning curler from distance to put them ahead before the break.

There wasn’t much to see on the pitch during the second half as both teams looked exhausted after a hard-fought first part and coming from intense semi-final games. There was a spark of action in the 74th when Gvardiol was set to complete his brace but went down inside the box. Croatia players and bench screamed for a penalty but nothing was given.

In response, Morocco found Youssef En-Nesyri unmarked inside the box but his effort from close-range was denied by a massive save from Dominik Livakovic in the 77th.

This was the second time the teams met in Qatar after they played out a goalless draw in their Group F opener on November 23.

While Croatia failed to reach the final following a 3-0 defeat to Argentina, Morocco lost 2-0 to champions France in the semi-finals.