Mo­roc­co held 2018 fi­nal­ist Croa­t­ia to a 0-0 draw at the World Cup on Wednes­day in an­oth­er strong per­for­mance by a team from an Arab coun­try.

Mo­roc­co’s promis­ing per­for­mance came 24 hours af­ter Sau­di Ara­bia sparked the first World Cup in the Mid­dle East in­to life by beat­ing Li­onel Mes­si’s Ar­genti­na in one of the biggest up­sets in the tour­na­ment’s his­to­ry.

Tunisia fol­lowed that up with a score­less draw against Eu­ro­pean Cham­pi­onship semi­fi­nal­ist Den­mark.

Mo­roc­co man­aged to sti­fle Croa­t­ia cap­tain Lu­ka Mod­ric, who won the best play­er award at the last World Cup when he led his coun­try to the fi­nal be­fore los­ing to France.

Mod­ric was an­nounced as play­er of the match on Wednes­day, a de­ci­sion that was greet­ed by boos from Mo­roc­co fans who chant­ed and whirled scarves as they jumped up and down in the fi­nal min­utes.

Paris Saint-Ger­main star Achraf Haki­mi had the best chance for Mo­roc­co with a thump­ing sec­ond-half shot punched away with both fists by goal­keep­er Do­minik Li­vakovic.

The 37-year-old Mod­ric is play­ing in his fourth and fi­nal World Cup, where he’s look­ing to add a Croa­t­ia ti­tle to his tro­phy-laden ca­reer with Re­al Madrid.

Mod­ric had one of the best chances of the game when he blast­ed a shot just over the cross­bar in first-half stop­page time. Croa­t­ia al­so went close when De­jan Lovran got a shot off at a cor­ner and So­fyan Am­ra­bat cleared off the line for Mo­roc­co.

In a tough Group F, Mo­roc­co faces No. 2-ranked Bel­gium next. Croa­t­ia plays Cana­da.

AL KHOR, Qatar (AP)

By GER­ALD IM­RAY-As­so­ci­at­ed Press