Kovacic offers honest opinion on Croatia missing out on 2022 FIFA World Cup final berth

Croatia are set to play Morocco on December 17 in the third-place match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Zlatko Dalic's team suffered a 3-0 loss to Argentina in the semi-final of the tournament.

While Vatreni couldn't progress to the final for the second edition in a row, they still have another game to play in Qatar. Walid Regragui's Morocco side, meanwhile, were defeated by France in the semi-final. The Atlas Lions suffered a 2-0 loss, which marked an end to their historic run in the World Cup.

Mateo Kovacic and Zlatko Dalic spoke with the media before Saturday's game. Chelsea's Kovacic said while it was disappointing that Croatia couldn't reach the final of the tournament, their main focus is now on the job in hand, which is to beat Morocco and capture third place.

🎙️🇭🇷Croatia press conference: Zlatko Dalic(Manager) and Mateo Kovacic are here to preview the third place playoff against Morocco 🇲🇦
#FIFAWorldCup https://t.co/zbwFOySQXN

Here's what the midfielder said:

“What we’ve shown by being the last four shows how we’ve worked and we deserve to be there. Of course it’s sad we’d have wanted to be in the final but I didn’t happen. Now we have to focus on finishing third.”

🎙️🇭🇷Kovacic: “What we’ve shown by being the last four shows how we’ve worked and we deserve to be there. Of course it’s sad we’d have wanted to be in the final but I didn’t happen. Now we have to focus on finishing third”.
#FIFAWorldCup https://t.co/30xl192g4L

Kovacic has been a mainstay for Croatia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Kovacic has started all six games for Croatia during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Chelsea star is one of the first names on the teamsheet, thanks to his experience and quality.

Aged just 28, it is safe to say that Kovacic has at least another World Cup campaign in him, considering he stays free of injuries.