Morocco - Croatia 0-0: Match analysis

Mutual neutralization in the premiere of the 6th group! Super Hakimi's Morocco stayed upright against the unwieldy "Hrvatska" of the oldest Croatian ever at a World Cup, Modric, and together they left the balance fluid ahead of the sequels.

The 6th group foreshadowed a lot of openness and the premiere confirmed this clearly. Morocco and Croatia measured their strengths, each had their moments, but the finale found them in perfect balance, unable to breach a goal, adding their third 0-0 in nine games at this year's World Cup. What happened cumulatively throughout the 2018 World Cup and last year's Euro!

Valid Regragi's team lined up with a lineup full of European "stars", most notably Ashraf Hakimi and Hakim Ziyech, against Zlatko Dalic's tried and tested total that had four players in common with the 2018 final lineup (Modric, Lovren, Perisic, Brozovic). The former, in fact, with his presence in the starting line-up automatically became the oldest player of the Croatian national team to play in a World Cup.

The match began nervously, with high intensity but no rhythm and both teams neutralizing each other in the first quarter. The first complete final was an ambitious shot by Ivan Perisic from 40 meters in the 17th minute, which went just over the crossbar.

In order for either team to reach the point of touching the goal again, we had to get to the delays of the first part. It was the Croatians who threatened, first in the 45+1' with Vlasic's dangerous display that Bono neutralised and two minutes later when Modric attempted the shot from outside the area but the ball flew high over the crossbar.

Morocco were certainly more threatening in the second half but needed to be saved by Bono and Amrabat in the Croatian's 52nd minute that ended with a projection by Lovren.

In the ten-minute 55-65 minute, the Moroccans made their presence felt in the frames of Livakovic, who saved Buffalo's close-range header in the 58th minute and Hakimi's powerful long-range shot seven minutes later.

Despite the fact that the energy and intensity levels remained at their peak until the finale and the ball circulated faster in the final minutes from one side of the field to the other, neither of them was able to find the goal and so they got one point ahead of the continuation of the group.

• Morocco (Walid Regragi): Bono, Hakimi, Ager, Sais, Mazrawi (60' Atiat-Alal), Amrabat, Unahi (81' Sabiri), Amallah, Ziyeh, En Nessiri (81' Hamdala), Buffalo (65' Ez Abde)
• Croatia (Zlatko Dalic): Livakovic, Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa, Brozovic, Modric, Kovacic (79' Mayer), Vlasic (46' Paslic), Kramaric (71' Livaja), Perisic (90' Orsic)

Source: Gazzetta.gr