Sports
Croatia secure World Cup third place over Morocco, but both left wondering what could have been
Wheeling out an inflatable World Cup before kick-off just felt cruel. The giant replica has been a regular feature of the prematch build-up throughout this tournament but Saturday’s third-place play-off between Croatia and Morocco was the one game that didn’t need it.
This is the only fixture where the participants know they cannot possibly win the trophy they came to compete for.And the fact that it takes place just a few days after the pain of a semifinal exit can make it feel like a gruesome afterthought; this was certainly the case for England and Belgium four years ago as two teams with designs on winning the tournament were made to put themselves through another 90 minutes when all they wanted to do was go home.
“It is not really an important game is it, honestly speaking,” Morocco coach Walid Regragui said Friday, mixed in with more positive messaging about the possibility of an African team finishing third for the first time in World Cup history.
Whether it was a competitive spirit kicking in or a sense of freedom created by the reduced stakes, Croatia and Morocco made this curious occasion a much more enjoyable affair than the last version in 2018.
There were two goals and a marriage proposal inside the opening 20 minutes. Leaving behind the drab 0-0 draw between the sides during the group phase, Luka Modric feigned to take a seventh-minute free-kick. Instead, Lovro Majer clipped a straight ball into the box. Ivan Perisic did brilliantly to twist his body and plant a header back across the box where Josko Gvardiol threw himself into the air to head past Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Less than two minutes later, Hakim Ziyech’s set-piece was defended poorly by Majer, the ball looping up in the air for Achraf Dari to equalise with a simple header. To the right of the press box, a man chose this state of play to pop the question. He got the answer he was looking for, followed by a sea of mobile phones pointed in the happy couple’s direction, seeking to capture and share in a moment of joy.
That is what Morocco’s tireless fans — and their vibrant team — have brought to this World Cup and there was a sense here that they wanted something tangible to show for their efforts: the bronze medal denoting third place.
Regragui made only three changes, at least one of those enforced because of injury, while his Croatia counterpart had spent the prematch build-up criticising the appointment of Abdulrahman al-Jassim, who at 35 years of age became the first Qatari referee to officiate at a World Cup, and stressing the importance of a medal to his nation. Croatia won bronze in 1998, a moment Dalic cited as “the beginning of our success” before adding that “every medal for us is a big thing.”
The celebrations that greeted what turned out to be the winning goal suggested as much. Bilal El Khannouss lost the ball cheaply on the edge of his own box. Marko Livaja picked it up and fed Mislav Orsic, who lifted a superb curling effort over Bounou to find the net via his left-hand post.
Half-time came and went. The newly-engaged couple posed for more photographs. As if to underline this match becoming an entertaining spectacle in spite of itself, the second half waned as the physical toll of seven matches in four weeks came to the fore.
Andrej Kramaric appeared to be in tears as he walked off gingerly on the hour mark. Dari followed him a few minutes later before Jawad El Yamiq made for the dugout clutching his hamstring. Youssef En-Nesyri missed two late second-half chances to force extra time either side of a few heated exchanges, largely down to disagreements with al-Jassim. But Croatia held on.
Dalic and Modric, 37, embraced. Dalic kissed Modric’s forehead, hopeful that such a remarkable football brain will indeed continue through to Euro 2024. The heavily outnumbered Croatia supporters made their voices heard in recognition of a third “podium finish” after 1998 and a runners-up medal four years ago. Morocco still secured the best-ever result for an African nation.
Modric led up his team to receive their medals from FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who appeared to be booed by supporters as he took his place on the hastily assembled stage. Gradually, one by one, Modric was joined by his teammates for a photo. Of course, what would normally happen at that point is the captain lifts a trophy — another reminder the real thing is tantalisingly but inescapably out of reach.
Instead, more support staff and family members joined the group to celebrate a moment of success amid the wider lingering sense of disappointment at being the warm-up act for tomorrow’s final.Morocco had already captured so many hearts but Croatia end their stay in Qatar with a physical reward. It just wasn’t the prize they wanted. (ESPN)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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