Stylish display: Hakim Ziyech finished an impressive World Cup campaign with a standout performance
(Picture: Getty Images)Morocco had already won the hearts of the footballing world after securing the best-ever finish for an African nation at a World Cup but failed to secure third place in Qatar.
Mislav Orsic’s stunning winner just before half-time secured a bronze medal for Croatia with Josko Gvardiol opening the scoring early on from a clever free-kick routine.
Achraf Dari equalised quickly afterwards but was then one of two players to go off injured as Morocco’s fairytale run took its toll.
But the Atlas Lions will still be proud despite the defeat after putting in another good performance against a top European nation.
Nizaar Kinsella was at the Khalifa International Stadium watching the penultimate World Cup match.
Yassine Bounou - 5
The excellent Morocco no1 almost scored a bad own goal in the opening stages. Produced some impressive goalkeeping to save Luka Modric’s first-half shot and prevent a follow-up. He was beaten twice by good efforts from Croatia.
Achraf Hakimi - 7
Making a joint-highest 10th World Cup appearance for Morocco alongside Ziyech, the Paris Saint-Germain full-back linked excellently with Ziyech.
Jawad El Yamiq - 5
The central defender looked a bit unsteady at the back with Romain Saiss and Nayef Aguerd out injured. He came off hurt himself in the second half.
Achraf Dari - 7
Bravely followed Lovro Majer’s poorly-executed clearance to score two minutes after conceding. He came off injured after the hour mark.
Yahya Attiat-Allah - 6
The Wydad AC left-back has been one of the revelations of this tournament despite the huge jump in level. He will surely find European clubs interested in signing him over the next six months.
Bilal El Khannouss - 5
Becoming Morocco’s fifth youngest player ever, the 18-year-old was at fault for the second goal, giving the ball away on the edge of his box before Orsic curled one in.
Sofyan Amrabat - 5
Morocco’s star midfielder has been one of the players of the tournament in Qatar but found it hard facing Modric and Mateo Kovacic. Moved to centre-back and almost gave away a penalty, but referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim waved it away.
Abdelhamid Sabiri - 4
After losing the first-half midfield battle, the Sampdoria man was taken off at half-time.
Sofiane Boufal - 5
The former Southampton winger gave away possession cheaply on a regular basis and was taken off early.
Youssef En-Nesyri - 5
The striker had a quiet first half but headed wide from a good Ziyech corner delivery. Drifted in and out of the game. The Sevilla forward had a point-blank range shot saved by Dominik Livakovic and planted a last-gasp header on the roof of the net.
Hakim Ziyech - 8 | Star player
Making his 50th appearance for Morocco, the Chelsea winger set up the first goal with a good free-kick. He entertained through brilliant dribbling, long-range shooting and link play.
Substitutes
Ilias Chair - 5
The QPR midfielder made his first appearance of the tournament from the bench at half-time. He was a little wasteful when played into good areas.
Azzedine Ounahi - 7
The no8 was rested for the third-place contest and was missed. He came on after 56 minutes as Morocco chased the game and made a good impact.
Selim Amallah - 6
The Standard Liege midfielder is available on a free transfer at the end of the season and got another chance to show his quality from the bench. He used his size to compete well.
Badr Benoun - 6
Morocco have worked their way through every defender and introduced their last fit one against Croatia.
Anass Zaroury - 6
The 22-year-old has excelled at Burnley this season and made his first appearance of the World Cup from the bench. He didn’t make a huge impact on the game.
