World Cup 2022: Croatia beat Morocco in third place play-off

Croatia and their manager Zlatko Dalic celebrated their third place victory

Croatia have beaten Morocco 2-1 to secure third place at this year's World Cup.

The action-packed game saw both teams scoring within the first ten minutes of the match.

But Croatia's second goal before half-time, sealed the win for the European side.

The result means that Croatia, who were runners-up at the last World Cup four years ago, have now had three top-three finishes at the tournament.

What happened?

Achraf Dari equalised for Morocco just 112 seconds after Croatia's opening goal

Croatia took the lead in the seventh minute thanks to a diving header from Josko Gvardiol.

However their lead lasted for less than two minutes, as Morocco responded almost immediately as Achraf Dari nodded home from close range to level the score.

The match was the first one of this World Cup to see both teams score inside the first ten minutes of play.

The game could have gone either way, with both Croatia and Morocco creating more scoring chances.

However, it was the European side which retook the lead just before half-time, as Mislav Orsic's curling strike hit the far post to go in.

Mislav Orsic curled in Croatia's winner in the 42nd minute

Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic explained how much the third-place victory meant to the team.

He said: "We won the bronze medal and it has a golden layer, it is like we have won the gold medal tonight."

It was also a special World Cup for Morocco, who made history by becoming the first African side to reach the semi-finals.

Manager Walid Regragui said: "We have made a fantastic achievement but we want to do that again. If we can keep reaching the semi-final or quarter final regularly, one day we will win the World Cup."