The Moroccan national football team wants to crown its historic participation in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in the best possible way, which is to occupy third place and win the bronze medal, when it plays its Croatian counterpart today on the grounds of Khalifa International Stadium, in the standings match or the “small final” as he likes. Some describe it.
And the "Atlas Lions" imprinted on a historic participation in the "Arab World Cup" when it became the first Arab and African team to reach the golden square, and it also achieved a magical journey by overthrowing European and international football giants such as Belgium, Spain and Portugal, before its journey ended at the half stop at the hands of France.
It seemed that the Moroccan coach, Walid Regragui, was still very affected by the end of the story of his beautiful country in the World Cup, but he confirmed in the media meeting that preceded the match that he really wanted to end it in the most beautiful way possible, which is to gift Moroccans, Arabs and Africans the first medal in the history of their World Cup participation.
Al-Rakraki admitted the difficulty of the task in front of the Croatian national team, which has a battalion of stars, led by Real Madrid's Spanish playmaker Luka Modric, especially in light of the "Lions" suffering from impressive absences due to the exposure of a number of the main pillars to the curse of injury.
Walid Rekragui, coach of the Moroccan national team (French)
It is unlikely that Regragui will depend on Brigadier General Roman Sayess in this match, after he left the first 15 minutes against France due to injury, along with defender Nayef Akrad, who also suffers from a thigh injury.
The last training session for the "Atlas Lions" witnessed the absence of Bayern Munich's right-back, Naseer Al-Mazraoui, who was unable to complete the last France match due to an injury he had suffered since the first match in the World Cup, while the duo Ezzedine Onahi and Ashraf Hakimi settled for light solitary sessions.
The confrontation between Morocco and Croatia will not be the first of its kind in this World Cup, as they faced each other in their opening match for Group F, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
On the other hand, Zlatko Dalic, coach of the Croatian national team, confirmed his desire to achieve a bronze medal for his country, so he "will play this match with all the strength and desire necessary to win and make the Croatian people happy."
Dalic returned to the France tournament in 1998 when his country won the bronze medal at the time, and the event was historic for his country a few years after independence, so he "wants to repeat this joy for the Croatian people."
Zlatko Dalic, coach of the Croatian national team (French)
The same speaker did not miss the opportunity to praise the Moroccan national team, which he considered "the most beautiful surprises of this World Cup."
Regarding the readiness of the Croatian national team, doubts arise about the participation of the duo, Marcelo Brozvic and Josip Juranovic, who suffer from a muscle injury and were absent from the last training session for the "Warriors" team.
It is worth noting that Croatia reached the golden square after eliminating the No. 1 candidate for the title, Brazil, in the quarter-finals, by penalty kicks, before being knocked out by Argentina, 0-3.
The match will start at six o'clock Mecca Al-Mukarramah time.