Morocco hailed for playing 'like a European side' in draw

Morocco 0 | Croatia 0

- Paul MacInnes

The drums of the Morocco ultras behind the goal suggested the outcome had been favourable. A high-tempo rat-a-tat-tat broke out on the final whistle, echoing the energy of the north Africans' performance as they took a point from the 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia in an engaging goalless draw.

Quite what the result means for either side - in a group that, short of other options, has received the label "group of death" - remains to be seen. But for Morocco this was a moment to seize upon, while for Croatia it was not an occasion to overreact.

Clearcut chances were limited at the Al Bayt stadium, a venue once again offering the dissonant effect of a patchy crowd with a lusty atmosphere. Two moments either side of half-time were the best of them. First, the Morocco goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, appeared like a bullet from the blue sky to keep out a poked effort from Nikola Vlasic. Second, Dominik Livakovic parried a Sofiane Boufal drive and then blocked a header from Azzedine Ounahi to keep the scores level.