FIFA World Cup third-place playoff: Luka Modric starts as Croatia reveal line-up for Morocco clash

Luka Modric starts for Croatia as they take on Morocco in the third-place clash of the 2022 FIFA World Cup today, December 17.

Zlatko Dalic's side were knocked out of contention for the trophy with a 3-0 semi-final loss against Argentina. Dalic, however, has named a strong XI for his team's seventh FIFA World Cup game.

Dominik Livakovic, who has been exceptional in Qatar, starts in goal for their clash against Morocco. Josip Stanisic, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Sutalo, Lovro Majer, Ivan Perisic, Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric, Andre Kramaric, Marko Livaja, and Mislav Orsic also start today.

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Morocco coach Walid Regragui proud of his team's achievements in the 2022 FIFA World Cup ahead of clash against Croatia

Morocco Press Conference - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Morocco's historic run in the 2022 FIFA World Cup came to an end when they were defeated 2-0 by France in the semi-final on December 14.

Walid Regragui acknowledged that his team wanted to play in the final rather than play in the third-place game. However, he stated that his players will treat the clash against Croatia as another World Cup game. He said (via India Today):

"I understand it's important to finish third rather than fourth, but my takeaway is we didn't reach the final... We wanted to play the final on Sunday, not play tomorrow, But I told my players this is our seventh World Cup game. If you told any Morocco fan we would be playing our seventh game on Dec. 17, they would be proud."