There was nothing to separate both sides today as Morocco and Croatia ended their Group F opener at the Qatar 2022 World Cup in a 0-0 draw at Al Bayt Stadium.
Chances were at a premium throughout the drab and evenly contested encounter, with Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bono producing the one major save of note to keep out Nikola Vlasic’s effort late in the first half.
Croatia, who were runners-up in 2018, dominated possession, while Achraf Hakimi showed some flashes of brilliance for the African representatives but there was little excitement during the match.
The result is the third goalless draw at the Qatar 2022 World Cup after identical scores yesterday in the Mexico versus Poland and Denmark versus Tunisia games.
After three of Africa’s five representatives have seen action in Qatar, the continent is yet to score a goal: Senegal were beaten 2-0 by The Netherlands on Monday, while Tunisia drew 0-0 with Denmark yesterday.
There was a shortage of clear-cut chances in today’s first game, with Vlasic’s effort on the stroke of half-time standing out.
Tottenham Hotspur winger Ivan Perisic, did some good work in the build-up before Borna Sosa produced a fine cross for Vlasic to attack. Bono came up with a fine save to preserve his clean sheet.
There was a piece of history in the match though. By playing 75 days after his 37th birthday, Luka Modric became the oldest Croatian ever to take part in a World Cup match.
The captain surpassed the record set by Drazen Ladic, who was 35 years and 191 days old when he featured against The Netherlands in 1998.
