It won’t come in the final of fantasy, the one that soccer romantics were hoping for, but there will be a Morocco-Croatia clash at this men’s World Cup. It’ll be Saturday’s third-place match in Al Rayyan, which in itself is a marker of how the world’s most popular sport has advanced.

What’s more significant than their encounter for the bronze medal is what the two contestants did to get there. Morocco, both the first African and Arab country to reach the semifinals, tied and drew with the second- and third-place finishers from 2018 (Croatia and Belgium), defeated the 2010 victor (Spain), and shut out a Portugal team that scored six on Switzerland. 

The Croatians held the Belgians to a scoreless draw, bested the Japanese in a shootout, then rallied in the final minutes of extra time to beat Brazil, widely viewed as the tournament favorite, in another shootout.If the stop sign finally went up for both teams in the semis it likely was because their exceptional resourcefulness and resilience could only take them so far.“You can’t win a World Cup with miracles,” observed Morocco coach Walid Regragui, whose indefatigable fighters were squelched, 2-0, by France’s defending champions.The Atlas Lions finally met an opponent with the necessary skill, speed, and savvy to break down a defense that others couldn’t solve. Croatia, which didn’t have a dangerous striker, put a heavy offensive burden on its 95-year-old midfield in a 3-0 loss to Argentina.

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