AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — In what could have been Luka Modric’s closing World Cup match, Josko Gvardiol made a play to be Croatia’s subsequent go-to man.Modric has been the person within the center for Croatia for greater than a decade, main the crew to the World Cup closing 4 years in the past and the semifinals of this 12 months’s event. However at 37, his time on the prime is definitely coming to an finish.Modric was once more central to Croatia’s 2-1 victory over Morocco for third place on the World Cup on Saturday, nevertheless it was Gvardiol that stepped up from the again at Khalifa Worldwide Stadium.Gvardiol, sporting a black masks after breaking his nostril throughout a Bundesliga match final month, performs a unique place and appears to be almost twice the dimensions of the diminutive No. 10. However at 20 years outdated he’s additionally almost half the age of Modric and performs like a veteran reasonably than somebody who was nonetheless the age of a highschool scholar when Croatia misplaced to France solely 4 years in the past within the 2018 closing.Nicknamed “Little Pep” due to the similarities between his final title and that of Manchester Metropolis supervisor Pep Guardiola, Gvardiol scored Croatia’s opening aim within the seventh minute of Saturday’s match with a diving header.His head was concerned on the opposite finish of the sphere as effectively. As a middle again taking part in simply behind Modric, Gvardiol was continually being referred to as upon to shoo away Morocco’s possibilities, to maintain the realm away from purple shirts and maintain the ball out of his crew’s web.He did that, and he was named participant of the match due to it.Gvardiol is listed at 6-foot-1, solely 5 inches taller than Modric, however he fills an enormous area in Croatia’s protection and he confirmed he can even transfer like a smaller participant.Working via the center of the sphere with the ball at his ft within the second half, Gvardiol crossed into the alternative penalty space with solely the goalkeeper to beat. Morocco midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, nevertheless, appeared to clip Gvardiol’s left foot. He went down in a heap and referred to as for a penalty, however the referee wasn’t shopping for it.The massive man within the black masks wasn’t pleased, sitting on the grass along with his arms within the air earlier than rejoining play on the opposite finish, instantly leaping to attempt to head the ball out of hazard from in entrance of his personal aim.Gvardiol was central to Croatia’s robust protection from the beginning in Qatar, with the crew permitting just one aim in three group matches. They continued that stingy play into the knockout rounds till being undone in a 3-0 loss to Argentina within the semifinals.Gvardiol got here into the World Cup after not too long ago extending his contract with German membership Leipzig, a deal that ties him to the crew via 2027. However a few of Europe’s largest golf equipment could have one thing to say about that with the January switch window arising in a matter of weeks.___AP World Cup protection: https://Fifanews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Gvardiol shines at World Cup as Croatia wins Third-place match
![Gvardiol shines at World Cup as Croatia wins Third-place match 1 Gvardiol shines at World Cup as Croatia wins 3rd-place match](https://i0.wp.com/fifanews.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Gvardiol-shines-at-World-Cup-as-Croatia-wins-3rd-place-match.webp-scaled.webp?resize=860%2C573&ssl=1)