Both teams were canceled during the game, more concerned about not losing than looking to win
The 1970 World Cup was that of samba football. The one from 90, the one with the catenaccio. This threatens to be the one who touches her for nothing. Morocco and Croatia staged it perfectly. Not the triangulations that made Spain and Germany champions; No. Same concept, but with a recipe to defend it that results in eternal rounds. Force without control is useless, the Pirelli ad said, and touch without firing is useless.
It’s not that the Balkans and the Maghreb have left reservations behind; is that the styles are known. Two brave approaches were voided this way to a bet that deserved more goals with no goals left behind, which is what football is all about after all. The result, a 0-0 draw between two very seasoned teams, a result that was only in jeopardy when the strength started to wane, the intensity of the pressure lessened and the most forced fouls came. So, and partly thanks to the Moroccan ambition, came the emotion and even some opportunities in the second half. But no trace of goals.
In an even first half, Modric’s flashes and Pericic’s volleys from long way secured second, but his rival didn’t suffer. Rondos, touch, triangulation and tostón, with the goalkeepers as spectators and a Morocco that did not even give a direct free kick despite the glove Acharf Hakimi has on his shoe, Livakovic managed to get his gloves warm.
bond; Achraf, Naif Aguerd, Romain Saiss, Mazraoui (Yahia Attiyat, min. 59); Ounahi (Sabiri, min. 80), Amrabat, Selim Amallah; Hakim Ziyech, In Nesyri (Hamdalla, min. 80), Boufal (Abde, min. 64).
Livakovic; Juraovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Borna Sosa; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic (Majer, min. 78); Perecic (Orsic, min. 89), Kramaric (Livaja, min. 70), Valsic (Pasalic, min. 46).
That of Regragui, who finally dared with a surprising 4-3-3 more daring than the system flagged by his predecessor, Vahid Halilhodzic, and that the football he displayed himself tried to exploit one of its weapons: quick transitions. But the Croatian core is still solid and two more similar than expected strategies were canceled. Just an emotional detail: Bono’s save at halftime, who cleared Borna Sosa’s shot with his leg. Morocco got their medicine: the shot from a projected side, but the Sevilla goalkeeper got huge in the small area. It was the only shot between the three sticks of the entire first half.
Mario Pasalic’s Zlatko Dalic reached out at the break to try and break the jam, but if he doesn’t connect to the lead it won’t matter who has the nine, especially against a Morocco team determined to get a to set up a new match. pace in the game by advancing the line depression. He had his prize with a header from Mazraouni, who fell hard and eventually asked for a substitution, and his reaction with a counter led by Modric and another corner kick that Bono avoided the goal. Suddenly the game was frantic; a runner of those who don’t like the coaches but exude emotion. All very funny, but it lasted less than ten minutes. Then silent again. If one plan doesn’t work, sometimes it’s worth moving to another. That is how Modric must have thought when he started the game on the wing.
But if anyone was close to goal it was Morocco, again entrusted to Hakimi’s right boot, who again from set pieces, this time an indirect free kick, forced Livakovic to clench his fists. The game was encouraged again and the entry of the Spanish-Moroccan Abde for Boufal showed that Regragui wanted more. Dalic, for his part, tried to see if he was scratching something with a gladiator like Livaja. An angle, an approach… But nothing more. The ambition for two points neutralized by the fear of losing one.
The Atlas lions have aged playing football. The Balkans, perhaps older than dry. Modric, who had his shadow in Amrabat, tried to play like Fischer on the Croatian board, but Karpov got out and, like Carlsen, got frustrated with the tables.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
