Morocco coach Walid Rekragui admitted that the match for third place in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is the "worst match" he will play, but at the same time he expressed his hope that his country would become the first Arab and African team to win a medal in the World Cup.

The "Atlas Lions" will meet Croatia tomorrow, Saturday, at Khalifa International Stadium, to determine the winning team for third place in the World Cup, after the two teams lost to France and Argentina, respectively, in the semi-finals.

After defeating Belgium, Spain and Portugal on the way to reaching the semi-finals in the World Cup in Qatar, the Moroccan national team lost 2-0 to France (the defending champion) in the golden square of the tournament.

And just as the Morocco national team was the first Arab and African team to reach the elimination rounds in the World Cup during the 1986 edition of the competition in Mexico, the "Atlas Lions" team was also the first Arab and African team to reach the semi-finals in the tournament during its amazing career in the 2022 World Cup.

The trick prize

During a press conference, Walid Rekraki likened the Croatia match to a "deceptive prize", but stressed his keenness to win it in order to win the bronze medal.

"We would have liked things to go differently and to play in the final, but there is another match to play, and we want to be on the podium," Rekragui said.

Walid Al-Rakraki wants third place to change the world's view of his country 👌

One eye on the podium and another on the FIFA World Cup 2026 👀

- FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@fifaworldcup_ar) December 16, 2022

"We know that Croatia also wants to finish third. We played them in our opening match, so that would be great. We didn't fully recover from the semi-final match, but they (Croatia) had more rest than us," Rekragui added.

"We need to clear our heads a little bit, when you got out of the semi-finals the first time we played, the emotions were high and it was very difficult. Despite this, my players still have that appetite with which they want to finish the tournament well and they know that They still have one game left to play."

And the Moroccan national team coach continued, "Our third place is definitely not the same as our fourth place. We want to take a medal with us, and we also want to raise our ranking in the FIFA rankings for national teams. If we win third place in the World Cup, we will advance in the ranking without a doubt."

Regragui upheld Morocco's complaint

Regragui supported the official complaint submitted by the Moroccan Football Federation to its international counterpart (FIFA) after the match referee refused to award a penalty kick to the team against France, and the most famous yellow card for Sofiane Boufal, instead of counting a foul against Theo Hernandez inside the penalty area of ​​​​the French national team.

"Our Football Association wanted to file the complaint, and I feel they were right to do so, but it doesn't change anything for us," Rekragui said.

"We should have won a penalty and Sofiane should not have got that yellow card. It's not the end of the road for us, we are still playing for third place, even the best countries were playing for third place."

Rekragui stated that Roman Saïss (the captain of the team) would not participate against Croatia, after he risked his captain, who was ready by "only 60-70%" in the semi-finals, a decision that backfired when he was eliminated after only 20 minutes.

He explained, "We lost our captain, Roman Sayes, during the match, and we took a risk, but it is a risk worth taking. We wanted to fight a battle during which he would have commanded the battalion. We have two other injured players, but we will see how it goes."

Tomorrow's international match may be Croatia's captain Luka Modric's last with his country's team, and Rakraki praised the brilliant Real Madrid star despite reaching 37 years.

"I don't know if this will be Modric's last match or not," the Moroccan coach said. "He is a strong fighter and will want to finish in a great way, and that should concern us. Hats off to Modric. He is doing exceptionally well at 37 years old. He won an award." Ballon d'Or, I am fully aware of his merit."