Coming so soon after the heartbreak of World Cup semifinal defeat, no team relishes the prospect of a third-place playoff.
But Croatia and Morocco must now dust themselves down before doing battle to earn some sort of recognition for their achievements in Qatar.
Speaking after missing out on a place in the final, both coaches suggested that they view this game as far more than a tournament-ending friendly.
So how will their teams look for this one? Below are the confirmed lineups.
Croatia vs Morocco LIVE: World Cup score, highlights, result from 2022 third place match
Croatia vs Morocco lineups
Morocco coach Walid Regragui is hoping for one more major exertion from his players after describing their loss to France in the World Cup semifinals as a "step too far".
The Atlas Lions have been the surprise package in Qatar but will only have third place to play for after being ousted by the world champions.
Regragui said: "At a World Cup this was perhaps one step too far. Not in terms of quality or tactics, but physically we came up short.
"We had too many players at 60 per cent or 70 per cent. With all our squad fit we could have caused them a lot of problems."
MORE: Croatia vs Morocco odds: Betting on total goals, cards, corners, and scorers
Croatia starting 11
(4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Livakovic (GK) — 2. Stanisic, 24, Sutalo, 20. Gvardiol, 4. Perisic — 10. Modric, 8. Kovacic — 9. Kramaric, 7. Majer, 18. Orsic — 14. Livaja
- Injured: None
- Suspended: Juranovic, Brozovic.
Josip Juranovic sits out to end due to a knock, ending a superb individual tournament on the sidelines, and Bayern Munich right-back Josip Stanisic takes his place. Ivan Perisic drops back to left-back in at attacking XI, with Josip Sutalo startling alongside Josko Gvardiol in the heart of defence
Midfielder Marcelo Brozovic is injured, which means Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic team up to play in a deeper role, leaving Lovro Majer as the lone attacking midfielder. Marko Livaja gets the nod ahead of Bruno Petkovic to handle centre-forward duties.
MORE: World Cup bracket 2022: Live updated FIFA knockout stages
Morocco starting 11
(4-3-3, right to left): 1. Bono (GK) — 2. Hakimi, 20. Dari, 18. El Yamiq, 25. Attiat-Allah — 8. Ounahi, 4. Amrabat, 15. Amallah — 7. Ziyech, 21-Cheddira, 17. Boufal
- Injured: Aguerd, Saiss, Mazraoui
- Suspended: none
Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd, and left-back Noussair Mazraoui were all forced out against France, with West Ham's Aguerd withdrawing after the warmup, and the defensive trio miss out.
Centre-forward Youssef En-Nesyri has recovered from and knock and leads the line, flanked by Sofiane Boufal and Hakim Ziyech. Belgian-born teenager Bilal El-Khannouss gets a start in midfield.
MORE: World Cup 2022 top goal scorer: Updated rankings in the Golden Boot race
Croatia vs Morocco World Cup squads
Here are the names on Croatia and Morocco's World Cup squad lists in Qatar (caps correct as of start of Qatar 2022):
Croatia World Cup squad
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Dominik Livakovic | Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | 27 | 34 |
| GK | 12 | Ivo Grbic | Atletico Madrid (SPA) | 26 | 2 |
| GK | 23 | Ivica Ivusic | Osijek (CRO) | 27 | 5 |
| DEF | 2 | Josip Stanisic | Bayern Munich (GER) | 22 | 7 |
| DEF | 3 | Borna Barisic | Rangers (SCO) | 29 | 28 |
| DEF | 5 | Martin Erlic | Sassuolo (ITA) | 24 | 4 |
| DEF | 6 | Dejan Lovren | Zenit St Petersburg (ITA) | 33 | 72 |
| DEF | 19 | Borna Sosa | VfB Stuttgart (GER) | 24 | 8 |
| DEF | 20 | Josko Gvardiol | RB Leipzig (GER) | 20 | 12 |
| DEF | 21 | Domagoj Vida | AEK Athens (GRE) | 33 | 100 |
| DEF | 22 | Josip Juranovic | Celtic (SCO) | 27 | 21 |
| DEF | 24 | Josip Sutalo | Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | 22 | 3 |
| MID | 7 | Lovro Majer | Rennes (FRA) | 24 | 11 |
| MID | 8 | Mateo Kovacic | Chelsea (ENG) | 28 | 84 |
| MID | 10 | Luka Modric | Real Madrid (SPA) | 37 | 155 |
| MID | 25 | Luka Sucic | RB Salzburg (AUS) | 20 | 4 |
| MID | 11 | Marcelo Brozovic | Inter Milan (ITA) | 29 | 77 |
| MID | 13 | Nikola Vlasic | Torino (ITA) | 25 | 42 |
| MID | 15 | Mario Pasalic | Atalanta (ITA) | 27 | 43 |
| MID | 26 | Kristijan Jakic | Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) | 25 | 4 |
| FWD | 4 | Ivan Perisic | Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) | 33 | 116 |
| FWD | 9 | Andrej Kramaric | Hoffenheim (GER) | 31 | 74 |
| FWD | 14 | Marko Livaja | Hadjuk Split (CRO) | 29 | 14 |
| FWD | 16 | Bruno Petkovic | Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | 28 | 23 |
| FWD | 17 | Ante Budimir | Osasuna (ENG) | 31 | 15 |
| FWD | 18 | Mislav Orsic | Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | 29 | 21 |
Morocco World Cup squad
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Yassine Bono | Sevilla (SPA) | 31 | 45 |
| GK | 12 | Munir | Al Wehda (KSA) | 33 | 43 |
| GK | 22 | Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti | Wydad (MOR) | 26 | 3 |
| DEF | 2 | Achraf Hakimi | Real Madrid (SPA) | 24 | 53 |
| DEF | 3 | Noussair Mazraoui | Bayern Munich (GER) | 24 | 14 |
| DEF | 6 | Romain Saiss | Besiktas (TUR) | 32 | 65 |
| DEF | 5 | Nayef Aguerd | West Ham (ENG) | 26 | 21 |
| DEF | 20 | Achraf Dari | Brest (FRA) | 23 | 4 |
| DEF | 18 | Jawad El-Yamiq | Valladolid (SPA) | 30 | 11 |
| DEF | 25 | Yahya Attiat-Allah | Wydad (MOR) | 27 | 1 |
| DEF | 23 | Badr Benoun | Qatar SC (QAT) | 29 | 3 |
| MID | 4 | Sofyan Amrabat | Fiorentina (ITA) | 26 | 38 |
| MID | 15 | Selim Amallah | Standard Liege (BEL) | 25 | 23 |
| MID | 11 | Abdelhamid Sabiri | Sampdoria (ITA) | 25 | 2 |
| MID | 8 | Azzedine Ounahi | Angers (FRA) | 22 | 9 |
| MID | 24 | Bilel El Khanouss | Genk (BEL) | 18 | 0 |
| MID | 26 | Yahya Jabrane | Wydad (MOR) | 31 | 4 |
| FWD | 7 | Hakim Ziyech | Chelsea (ENG) | 24 | 42 |
| FWD | 19 | Youssef En-Nesyri | Sevilla (SPA) | 25 | 49 |
| FWD | 17 | Sofiane Boufal | Angers (FRA) | 29 | 31 |
| FWD | 14 | Zaharia Aboukhlal | Toulouse (FRA) | 22 | 12 |
| FWD | 16 | Abdessamad Ezzalzouli | Osasuna (SPA) | 20 | 1 |
| FWD | 10 | Anass Zaroury | Burnley (ENG) | 22 | 0 |
| FWD | 13 | Ilias Chair | QPR (ENG) | 25 | 10 |
| FWD | 9 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al Ittihad (KSA) | 31 | 17 |
| FWD | 21 | Walid Cheddira | Bari (ITA) | 24 | 2 |