Qatar 2022, Doha
A World Cup third place play-off is a match neither team featuring realistically wants to play considering their aspirations to fight for the ultimate title had been snuffed just days earlier.
But banish the thought that Croatia and Morocco, who meet for the second time in this tournament, will be walking into the Khalifa International Stadium today just for the formalities.
Both camps have loudly declared their intentions setting the stage for another alluring battle that kicks off at 6pm.
“We want to go home as the number three team in the world,” Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic simply said Friday.
“We would have liked to have been in the final but there is a third place to play for. We want to finish on the podium,” declared the young Morocco coach Walid Regragui who has been largely praised here in Qatar for guiding the Atlas Lions to Africa’s first ever semi-final appearance.
The 47-year-old France-born coach said: “Our performance has been good. We were considered underdogs but we reached the semi-final. I hope we will put on a good show. We want to go home with a medal.”
Morocco held Croatia to a barren draw in their Group ‘F’ encounter some 24 days ago before stunning Belgium 2-0, Spain (0-0, 3-0 on penalties) and Portugal (1-0) to enter the semis where they lost 2-0 to France on Wednesday.
Regragui said he wanted to write more history by claiming the number three spot in world football. This will see Morocco set the record of the best finish by a non-European or South American nation in the tournament since 1930, when the USA finished third.
But it will be an uphill task.
Before their barren draw at Al Bayt the only other meeting between the two nations was a 2-2 draw in Casablanca in 1996.
Croatia are not new to playing at this stage.
The 2018 losing finalists finished third in France 1998 after defeating Netherlands 2-1 in Paris.
More importantly for Morocco’s information, Croatia have yet to concede a goal against African opposition at the World Cup, beating Cameroon (4-0 in 2014) and Nigeria (2-0 in 2018) before the stalemate with Morocco.
Both coaches will have to deal with a long injury list. Morocco, for instance, will be without their captain Saiss Romain of Besiktas and his dependable central defence partner Nayef Aguerd of West Ham.
Regragui, meanwhile, said the Morocco Football Federation had every right to make a formal complaint to Fifa over the officiating of their semi-final match against France.
The Atlas Lions have taken issue with the yellow card handed to midfielder Soufiane Boufal by Mexican referee Cesar Ramos after he got entangled with France’s Theo Hernandez as both players went down.
Television replay showed that it was the French player who had in fact brought down Boufal.
“There are issues with the referee, and if there are, then the federation can raise a complaint. We should have had a penalty and Soufiane should not have been given a yellow card. But we congratulate France for advancing,” said Regragui.
Share this news
This Year’s Most Read News Stories
ACT Unaware of Mwinyi’s joint committee on Zanzibar reforms
Opposition party ACT Wazalendo has said it is not aware of a special committee on reforms and has directed the party’s leadership to follow up on the decision of the Central Committee which directed its leaders to meet with President Hussein Ali Mwinyi.Continue Reading
Tanzania Confirms Outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease
Dodoma — Tanzania today confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region after one case tested positive for the virus following investigations and laboratory analysis of suspected cases of the disease.
President of the Republic of Tanzania, Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, made the announcement during a press briefing alongside World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma.
“Laboratory tests conducted in Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one patient as being infected with the Marburg virus. Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative,” the president said. “We have demonstrated in the past our ability to contain a similar outbreak and are determined to do the same this time around.”
A total of 25 suspected cases have been reported as of 20 January 2025, all of whom have tested negative and are currently under close follow-up, the president said. The cases have been reported in Biharamulo and Muleba districts in Kagera.
“We have resolved to reassure the general public in Tanzania and the international community as a whole of our collective determination to address the global health challenges, including the Marburg virus disease,” said H.E President Hassan.
WHO is supporting Tanzanian health authorities to enhance key outbreak control measures including disease surveillance, testing, treatment, infection prevention and control, case management, as well as increasing public awareness among communities to prevent further spread of the virus.
“WHO, working with its partners, is committed to supporting the government of Tanzania to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible, and to build a healthier, safer, fairer future for all the people of Tanzania,” said Dr Tedros. “Now is a time for collaboration, and commitment, to protecting the health of all people in Tanzania, and the region, from the risks posed by this disease.”
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
“The declaration by the president and the measures being taken by the government are crucial in addressing the threat of this disease at the local and national levels as well as preventing potential cross-border spread,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Our priority is to support the government to rapidly scale up measures to effectively respond to this outbreak and safeguard the health of the population,”
Tanzania previously reported an outbreak of Marburg in March 2023 – the country’s first – in Kagera region, in which a total of nine cases (eight confirmed and one probable) and six deaths were reported, with a case fatality ratio of 67%.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Although several promising candidate medical countermeasures are currently undergoing clinical trials, there is no licensed treatment or vaccine for effective management or prevention of Marburg virus disease. However, early access to treatment and supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improve survival.
Source: allafrica.com
ACT-Wazalendo calls for withdrawal of mandatory travel insurance in Zanzibar
Starting October 1, all visitors to Zanzibar will be required to purchase a mandatory travel insurance policy costing $44 at the point of entryContinue Reading
