Four of the best third-place play-offs
Croatia will face Morocco in Saturday's FIFA World Cup™ Qatar 2022 third-place play-off
The Vatreni are looking to reach the podium for a third time following 1998 and 2018
Morocco will become the first African nation to contest the bronze medal match
Ahead of Croatia's match against Morocco on Saturday 17 December in the FIFA World Cup™ Qatar 2022 third-place play-off, we take a look back through the history books to some of the most memorable bronze medal matches that the FIFA World Cup™ has had to offer.
Zlatko Dalic's Croatia side will take part in this year's edition of the play-off with the hope of repeating the feat of 1998, when Miroslav Blazevic's men took on the Netherlands in the Parc des Prince.
After just 14 minutes, Robert Prosinecki spun Arthur Numan on the edge of the area and fired beyond Edwin van Der Sar, before Boudewijn Zenden equalised with a ferocious 25-yard effort.
But the man of the moment was undoubtedly Davor Suker, as the Real Madrid striker swept home a terrifically arrowed drive late in the half, which won him the Adidas Golden Shoe outright with six goals and confirmed the Vatreni's spot on the podium in their debut tournament.
The third-place play-off is often fertile hunting ground for forwards looking to notch a decisive goal in their quest for personal glory, and Italia '90 proved no different for Salvatore Schillaci.
The super-sub turned starter took to the field against England level with Czechia's Tomas Skuhravy on five goals in the tournament's scoring charts. Goals from Roberto Baggio and David Platt left an action-packed game level going into the final moments, before Schillaci was brought down in the area by Paul Parker.
'Toto', as he was affectionately known, dusted himself and slotted the ball beyond Peter Shilton to win the Adidas Golden Shoe outright, as well as the Golden Ball.
Didier Deschamps' side may well be two-time World Champions now, but France's first crack at the podium will live long in the memory, as the French took on West Germany in the most thrilling bronze medal match to date.
Les Bleus were armed with Just Fontaine who had already scored a record-breaking nine goals at the tournament and used the play-off to etch his names into the record books forever, notching a brace in the first half to give France a 3-1 lead, before repeating the feat in the second to carry his side to an incredible 6-3 victory.
His tally of 13 goals is a single World Cup record and one which leaves him in fourth on the all-time scoring charts for the competition.
La Celeste were no stranger to drama following their pulsating quarter-final clash with Ghana in South Africa and their play-off battle with Germany at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was no different.
Thomas Muller opened the scoring to draw level with David Villa and Wesley Sneijder on five goals in the race for the Adidas Golden Shoe, only for Edison Cavani to equalise midway through the first half before Forlan joined Muller on five goals with a superb volley just after the break.
It wouldn't last for long, however, as goals from Marcel Jansen and Sami Khedira turned the game on its head to take Germany to the podium, paving the way for Khedira and ten other members of that squad to go all the way four years later.
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