Croatia vs Morocco: How to Watch the World Cup 2022 Playoff in Qatar

This is it! We’ve seen 28 teams eliminated, and we are left with just 4 — two of them expected and two big surprises. And this Saturday, December 17th at 10:00 am (EST), Croatia and Morocco will compete for 3rd place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

In a hurry? You can watch the World Cup live on Fox (and Telemundo in Spanish). These streaming services allow you to do that and more:

Qatar 2022 started with all eyes on Brazil. They are still ranked at the top of FIFA. But at Education City Stadium on December 9th, tiny Croatia kept its quarterfinal match tied and shocked the world by winning on penalty kicks. But they couldn’t overcome Lionel Messi and his Argentinian crew in the semifinal. Meanwhile, at Al-Bayt Stadium in the France vs Morocco semifinal, France won 2-0, cementing Les Bleus’ place in the Final.

Only four teams remain. Argentina and France meet in the World Cup final at Lusail Stadium, and Croatia and Morocco meet in the third-place match at Khalifa International Stadium in Al-Rayyan.

How to Watch the World Cup Third-Place Match on TV

As with almost all the knockout World Cup matches (a couple were on Fox Sports 1), the third-place playoff will air live on Fox (in English) and Telemundo (in Spanish).

These TV channels broadcast over the air. That means that as long as you live relatively close to one of their transmitter towers, you can watch this match for free. Especially when it comes to Fox, you should be set if you live in a moderately populated area.

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World Cup 2022 Third-Place Playoff Schedule

See our complete schedule for all the information. Since you are probably interested in the final too, here is the remaining World Cup schedule. The games fill the weekend, with kick-off each day at 10:00 am (EST).

• Saturday, December 17 10:00 am (EST): Croatia vs Morocco (Fox)
• Sunday, December 18 10:00 am (EST): Argentina vs France (Fox).

Here are the current FIFA rankings for the four finalists:

• Argentina (3)
• Croatia (12)
• France (4)
• Morocco (22)

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Stream the World Cup Third Place Playoff

Fox and Telemundo are both widely available from live TV streaming services. The following services offer one or both of them:

• fuboTV: The ultimate streaming service for soccer fans offers 120+ channels in its base plan with a ton of extra features. (fuboTV review)
• Sling TV: The Sling Blue plan offers Fox in select areas for just $40.00/mo. (Sling TV review)
• DIRECTV STREAM: Watch the World Cup your way with many options. (DIRECTV STREAM review)
• Hulu + Live TV: Get 85+ live channels along with Disney+ and ESPN+. (Hulu Live review)
• Vidgo: Offers 100+ channels including Fox for $69.99/mo. (Vidgo review)
• YouTube TV: Watch 100+ channels, including the World Cup.

If you are only interested in Spanish-language coverage, check out Peacock Premium.

All of these streaming services allow you to watch on multiple devices. It can be as low as 2 (Hulu) or as high as unlimited (DIRECTV STREAM). And they all offer cloud DVR storage from as low as 20 hours (Vidgo) up to unlimited.

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Devices to Live Stream World Cup 3rd Place Match

All the streaming services we’ve discussed support most of the devices in use today:

Many other devices are supported, depending on the service. That’s especially true of fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

Croatia vs Morocco

The experts suggest that the match is very likely to be a draw, although if one of the two teams is to win, they think Croatia is the more likely choice.

Part of the reason for this is that the third-place matchup is, in fact, a rematch from a Group F match between these two teams on November 23rd of this year, which also ended in a 0-0 draw. Neither team changed its strategy or tactics during the tournament games that followed, which makes a regular-time draw that ends in penalty kicks very possible, but not guaranteed.

Croatia’s Keys to Victory

Croatia’s best chance at securing the third-place finish (and the extra prize money that comes with it) likely lies with their 37-year-old superstar Luka Modrić, who is quite capable on both sides of the ball. Although he is no doubt disappointed to come up short in his quest to win it all in what is very probably his final World Cup, he’ll be extra motivated to secure this third-place finish.

The versatile Marcelo Brozović will also be a key part of a potential victory, as he’s another dual threat for the squad who can operate as a deep-lying playmaker or a box-to-box midfielder. If Croatia does manage a victory, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Brozovic with a goal or an assist during the match.

Unfortunately, Brozovic and defender Josep Gvardiol may be sidelined this game due to injury, which won’t do the Blazers any favors.

Morocco’s Keys to Victory

Morocco’s best chance to overcome the odds and secure a third-place finish will probably involve another excellent game from Sofyan Amrabat. His amazing defensive performance against Spain in the Round of 16 helped secure a 0-0 tie at the end of regular time and led to Morocco winning 3-0 on penalty kicks.

This year’s team, under the management of Walid Regragui, was the first African national team to ever reach the World Cup Semifinals. The Atlas Lions will look to secure the third-place finish to cement their legacy as the best African squad of all time.

Abdelhamid Sabiri, Hakim Ziyech, and Achraf Hakimi all netted penalty kicks in the upset over Spain. Should this match reach that phase after an overtime tie, there’s a better-than-average chance that they could score again to secure the bronze medal. But look out for Youssef En-Nesyri, the only Moroccan to score more than one goal in a match so far, and up-and-coming midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, who is just starting to make a name for himself.

Morocco will be missing some big guns of its own, with both captain Romain Saiss and Noussair Mazraoui out for injuries.

Team Comparison

Overall, Morocco would seem to have the edge on defense, having allowed fewer goals to their opponents and having won Group F outright, with Croatia coming in as the runner-up. Offensively, Croatia has scored more goals in the tournament, which will no doubt make this matchup one of the most exciting third-place contests in the history of the tournament.

No matter which team manages to secure the third-place victory, fans won’t want to miss this exciting matchup!

Wrapping Up

It’s very possible that this third-place World Cup game will be even more exciting than the final itself. You don’t want to miss the kick-off time — make sure to watch Croatia take on Morocco. We recommend fuboTV for serious soccer fans. But those on a budget can’t go wrong with Sling TV!

FAQs

Didn’t Croatia and Morocco already play in the World Cup?

Croatia and Morocco were both in Group F during the group stage of the 2022 World Cup. Morocco won with a 2-1-0 record and Croatia came in second with 1-2-0. When the two teams met, the match ended in a scoreless tie. So we can expect a competitive game in the coming match.

What teams have been eliminated from the World Cup?

The following teams were eliminated at the Group Stage:

These teams were eliminated so far in the Knockout Stage:

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