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Morocco and Croatia shared the spoils in an entertaining, goalless draw in their Group F opener in the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, on Wednesday (November 23).
Croatia, the runners-up four years ago, came up against a well-drilled Morocco team that gave them a run for their money and threatened to play spoilsport. History doesn't read kindly for the European side, who have failed to progress out of the group stage in the three previous editions when they did not win their opening game.
Zlatko Dalic's men started the match strongly, led by captain Luka Modric. The talisman dictated play popped up with several tactical fouls to disrupt Morocco's attacks. The African side's first big chance came via Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech, who saw a snap shot blocked before a whipped cross sailed over everyone's head in the box.
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Both sides struggled to make the final pass, which became the central theme as the contest wore on. Nevertheless, it was an entertaining contest. While Walid Regragui's Morocco might be happy with the draw, Croatia will look back at the game with a lot of 'what if's.
They will next turn their attention to their game against Canada on Sunday, while Morocco face Belgium on the same day. On that note, here are the player ratings from the game:
Morocco player ratings
Yassine Bounou - 6/10
Bounou did not have much to do, as Croatia struggled to make inroads into the box. The 31-year-old made two good saves from Nikola Vlasic and Modric and had a comfortable outing as he picked up a clean sheet.
Achraf Hakimi - 7/10
Hakimi showed why he's in the conversation for the world's best full-backs. The right-sided defender had a marauding presence on his flank, bombing forward at every opportunity while not ignoring his defensive duties. Hakimi did well to sting Dominik Livakovic's gloves with a rasping drive from way out.
Romain Saiss - 6/10
While Saiss did not have much to do, he formed a formidable backline along with his fellow defenders to keep Croatia at bay.
Nayef Aguerd - 6/10
Like Saiss, Aguerd performed well as one part of a strong defensive unit without personally doing anything to stand out.
Noussair Mazraoui - 6/10
Mazraoui was not as effective as Haikimi going forward, but he barely put a foot wrong defensively, which would have satisfied Walid Regragui.
Azzedine Ounahi - 6/10
A combative presence in midfield, Ounahi did his job defensively without contributing much in attack.
Sofyan Amrabat - 8/10
Amrabat was an energetic presence in the middle of the park and key to breaking the fluidity of Croatia's midfield trio. He pressed with intent and put in a host of tackles that stopped Croatian attackers in their tracks. The Fiorentina player did well in possession, picking the right passes and recycling the ball.
Hakim Ziyech - 7/10
Back into the fold under new management, Ziyech showed both his good and bad sides over 90 minutes. He pressed with intent and did his best to keep the ball in possession. He whipped in a few good crosses but also missed picking the right pass at times.
Nevertheless, the Chelsea player looks hungry to be back in the team and could well play an important part if Morroco reach the knockouts.
Selim Amallah - 5/10
Like Ounahi, Amallah was defensively sound without offering much going forward.
Sofiane Boufal - 4/10
Boufal was the most ineffective of the Moroccan forwards, making no impression in attack while looking weak when defending. Replaced past the hour mark as Morocco looked for a breakthrough.
Youssef En-Nesyri - /10
En-Nesyri used his strength to cause trouble for the Croatian centre-backs. He kept his markers on their toes, and his movement allowed the likes of Ziyech to find pockets of space to have a second touch and measure crosses into the box.
Morocco Substitutes
Yahya Attia Attia Allah - 4/10
Replaced Noussair Mazraoui with 30 minutes left but barely made an impact.
Abdessamad Ezzalzouli - 4/10
Ezzalzouli was as ineffective as Sofiane Boufal, whom he replaced in the 65th minute.
Abderazak Hamdallah - NA
Replaced En-Nesyri in the dying minutes but didn't have time to make an impact.
Abdelhamid Sabiri - NBA
Came on too late to make an impact.
Croatia player ratings
Dominik Livakovic - 7/10
Like his Morocco counterpart, Livakovic barely had any work to do — besides punching away one stinging long drive from Achraf Hakimi. It was a relatively quiet afternoon capped by a clean sheet for the 27-year-old.
Josip Juranovic - 6/10
The right-back was solid defensively without contributing much at the other end.
Dejan Lovren - 6/10
The veteran used his experience well to organise the backline and help his team keep a clean sheet.
Josko Gvardiol - 7/10
With Lovren keeping an eye on the defensive positions, Gvardiol concentrated on intercepting Morocco's passes and turning defensive phases of play into counter-attacking opportunities.
Borna Sosa - 6/10
While he performed as well as Juranovic defensively, Sosa did end up whipping in one of the best crosses of the game. Unfortunately, it went untouched and with that so did Sosa's attacking influence.
Luka Modric - 5/10
While the veteran did not do a lot of things wrong, Modric was poor by his lofty standards. While he started the game strong, he soon found himself hounded around the pitch by Morocco's relentless pressing. The veteran was forced to put in tactical fouls as Croatia found themselves on the back foot.
Marcelo Brozovic - 6/10
With most of Moroccan's attention firmly on Modric, Brozovic did his best to drive his team forward but lacked the killer instinct to break defensive lines with the final ball.
Mateo Kovacic - 5/10
He recycled possession well, ran around tirelessly while defending, and protected the backline by stopping Morocco's attacks. However, Kovacic had little impact in the final third.
Nikola Vlasic - 4/10
The West Ham forward failed to make an impact in the first half and was duly replaced at half-time.
Andrej Kramaric - 4/10
Kramaric performed as well as Vlasic before getting hauled off with 19 minutes left.
Ivan Perisic - 5/10
Like Modric, Perisic worked hard but failed to live up to his usual lofty standards.
Croatia Substitutes
Mario Pasalic - 5/10
Replaced Vlasic and did a much better job in midfield, which isn't saying much, though.
Marko Livaja - 4/10
Replaced the ineffective Kramaric with less than 20 minutes left but couldn't do much with the ball at his feet.
Lovro Majer - NA
Replaced Kovacic in the 79th minute but did not have enough time to make his mark.
Mislav Orsic - 2/10
Replaced Perisic in the 90th minute when Morocco threatened to make an unlikely breakthrough.
