Croatia fall flat in opening draw with Morocco at World Cup 2022

Runners-up four years ago, the worry is that this Croatian generation might have run out of steam.

Just as it was in Russia 2018, Zlatko Dalic’s side still very much revolves around Luka Modric, but they have been reduced somewhat by a series of key retirements in the interim. Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic, Vedran Corluka and Sime Vrsaljko are no longer there, while Ante Rebic was not selected.

Of course, there remain the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic - stars at Chelsea, Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively - but no doubt the support cast's prowess has pinched a little.

On Wednesday, as Croatia commenced their campaign to go one better than four years ago, that appeared evident. They struggled against Morocco in the Group F opener at Al Bayt Stadium, playing out a goalless draw that contained plenty of effort but minimal enterprise. Too often, Andrej Kramaric was too isolated up front, so too Marko Livaja when he replaced him for the final 15 minutes.

What's more, Modric did not display his usual mastery in the middle. The Real Madrid star, who turned 37 in September, debuted at the World Cup as far back as 2006. Against Morocco, he became the first player to participate in both the World Cup and European Championship in three different decades. It spoke of his enduring quality, but hinted that he might not be the force on this stage that he once was.

So what of the match action? After a battling first-half between the two teams, Croatia came closest to breaking the deadlock in injury time - twice. First, Perisic played in the charging Borna Sosa on the left, whose low centre found Nikola Vlasic. The striker stabbed the ball towards goal, only for Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou