The final between Argentina and France had to be in a multitude of cheers before the World Cup began. They were two of the favourites, two classic tournament teams that have the honor of wearing two stars on their chests. Messi against Mbappé. The team with the most passionate and striking fans against the reigning champion.
It will have been much more difficult to hit the rivals whom the French and Argentines had to beat in the semifinals. Morocco and Croatia have been the great revelations of the competition, summoned this Saturday at the Al Khalifa stadium in Rayán (4:00 p.m. / La 1 and Gol Mundial) for the most inconsequential match of the World Cup. The one that no one wants to play after the multiple efforts made to end up dying on the shore, but in this case it is a source of pride for both countries.
Neither Morocco nor Croatia are enthusiastic about the clash, even though both teams had signed to meet again after the premiere between the two with good intentions, and little else. "I'm not going to fool anyone, this is not the game we would have liked to play", acknowledged an ambitious Walid Regragui in the preview although, at the same time, he pointed out that the victory against the Balkans "would set the bar higher" for the Atlas Lions.
Zlatko Dalic, for his part, considers the match "important" despite the fact that motivation has waned and is confident that it will not be the last for Luka Modric in the Harlequin shirt. The Croatian coach did not reveal if the veteran Real Madrid midfielder (37 years old) will start or have minutes.
“No one expected Morocco to go as far as we (runner-up world champions) did four years ago. I am sure that they will be a more difficult opponent than they were in the first match, because they have grown during the tournament”, explained Dalic. A match without pressure that is expected to be "more open", according to Regragui. "The two teams will be more untied, I think there will be more space," said the Frenchman, the architect of the North African wall during the World Cup event that has led him to make history. No other African team had reached the semifinals.
In the consolation final it is common to see rotations. In the Moroccan case, the captain Romain Saïss will not be there, who had been suffering from discomfort since the round of 16 match against Spain. Despite this, the center-back was in the quarterfinals and said enough in the semifinals after France's goal that forced Morocco to go on the attack. Unfortunate substitute striker Walid Cheddira returns for this match after serving a one-match suspension.
Regarding Croatia, there are three starters in doubt: Juranovic, Brozovic and Gvardiol, the latter the central sensation of the World Cup despite appearing in the photo in Argentina's third goal after Messi's play, already eternal. "I will be able to tell my children that I played against the best in history," said the 20-year-old Croatian, downplaying the action and assuming his mistakes.
Since the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan (Turkey and South Korea) there has not been a consolation final without former world champions. For this match, FIFA has chosen a Qatari referee: Abdulrahman Al Jassim. "I hope that after the game we won't talk about the referee," said Dalic, unconvinced with the appointment due to the inexperience of the chosen one.
