Croatia have won their last five matches and lost once in 16 months. But the 2018 World Cup runners-up, led by midfield conjurer Luka Modric, will begin their World Cup campaign against Morocco at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday with little fanfare.
So unfancied are Zlatko Dalic’s side, who went all the way before losing to France in the final four years ago, that bookmakers are offering 50-1 against them lifting the trophy this time around.
“It’s going to be hard,” agreed striker Andrej Kramaric. “But it’s also good that maybe we don’t have so much pressure just because we had done amazing things in Russia. Nevertheless, we still wish to achieve more.”
For Morocco, their buildup was overshadowed amid controversy over their coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who was sacked in August following a dispute over player selection and got replaced with Walid Regragui. One of the players at the centre of that dispute, Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech, was excluded by Halilhodzic for disciplinary reasons but recalled by Regragui despite only starting twice for his club this season.
Mindset-wise, however, the Moroccans, who have made five World Cup appearances in the past, should be well placed being unbeaten in their last two games. After a goalless result against Paraguay in September, Morocco beat Georgia 3-0 in their final warm-up match on November 17.
They should go into their campaign opener as a confident unit. The Croats, though, can hope to continue a wave of momentum in the lead-up to the quadrennial showpiece.
They won their qualifying group conceding only four goals with just one defeat and that came in their opening game away to Slovenia in March 2021. They also topped their Nations League group ahead of Cup holders France, Denmark and Austria.
While they may have lost some of the leading names from their 2018 run, such as striker Mario Mandzukic and midfielder Ivan Rakitic, there’s no shortage of talent in Croatia’s ranks, especially in midfield. Modric, the player of the tournament in the previous edition, has one last shot at glory at 37 and will probably be a part of an impressive midfield trio alongside Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic of Chelsea.
Written with Reuters inputs
⚫ Match starts: 3.30pm IST
