AL KHOR, Qatar (Reuters) - Few have fancied Croatia to repeat their odds-defying 2018 run to the World Cup final in Qatar, but one hurdle they were definitely expected to clear was their opening group game against Morocco on Wednesday.
Only four players from the defeat to France in the final started on Wednesday after coach Zlatko Dalic's rebuild fused Croatia's experienced core of Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic with a talented new generation led by Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic.
Midfield maestro Modric was unable to dictate play as much as he normally would but he still drifted tirelessly all over the pitch and picked his moments to inject some urgency into his team's attack. Croatia had netted 21 goals during their World Cup qualifying campaign but Modric, Perisic and Pasalic top-scored with three goals each in the absence of a dependable centre forward.
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