Doha, December 16 (QNA) - Croatia Coach Zlatko Dalic confirmed that tomorrow's third-place play-off against Morocco at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is considered a final, a major match and a fight for a medal in the World Cup.

In the pre-clash press conference Dalic said that the Moroccan team provided outstanding levels, they are the most pleasant and biggest surprise from this World Cup, due to its impressive technical potential and the fighting spirit that was demonstrated during the games, which underscores the difficulty of the match tomorrow.

He added that after the 2018 Russia World Cup, no one expected Morocco to qualify to the semi-finals at the Qatar World Cup. It was the surprise of the tournament. "We have a lot of respect for the Moroccan team, who achieved a lot at this tournament and are a true surprise, but we are perfectly ready, and we realize that the game is hard and difficult, and it is a challenge for us as we are having a final." The Croatia team made its greatest achievement in the 1998 edition by winning the bronze medal, which reflects the importance of pulling off the third place and motivates the players to win tomorrow's match to repeat the same achievement and for the team to return home victorious.

Tomorrow, the team will play its seventh match in one month, with two players Marcelo Brozovic and Josip Juranovic struggling with injury, where their position on participation will be determined later before the match, stating that the match with Morocco will be different from the group stage meeting and therefore he does not want to play mainly with players suffering from injuries so as not to lose substitutions, he added.

Croatia's head coach has expressed his wishes for the continuation of captain Luka Modric and his participation in the Euro 2024 tournament.
For his part, the player Mateo Kovacic, stated that, the presence of Croatias national team among the top four, is a great achievement. (QNA)