It’s not as glamorous as the World Cup Final, but a medal is on the line.
The third-place game in the World Cup pits the two nations that lost in their semifinal matchups against one another for the bronze medallion in the tournament. The team that loses goes home empty-handed.
In 2022, Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 in the game to earn third place in Qatar after finishing second in 2018. Morocco, which was the first African nation to reach the semifinals, leaves Qatar in fourth.
Let’s look back at every third-place game result in World Cup history:
1930 – There was no third-place game this year, but FIFA eventually ruled that the United States finished in third based on its overall record in the tournament.
1934 – Germany 3, Austria 2
1938 – Brazil 4, Sweden 2
1950 – There was no final this year since the winner was decided by round-robin format between four nations.
1954 – Austria 3, Uruguay 1
1958 – France 6, West Germany 3
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1962 – Chile 1, Yugoslavia 0
1966 – Portugal 2, Soviet Union 1
1970 – West Germany 1, Uruguay 0
1974 – Poland 1, Brazil 0
1978 – Brazil 2, Italy 1
1982 – Poland 3, France 2
1986 – France 4, Belgium 2
1990 – Italy 2, England 1
1994 – Sweden 4, Bulgaria 0
1998 – Croatia 2, Netherlands 1
2002 – Turkey 3, Korea Republic 2
2006 – Germany 3, Portugal 1
2010 – Germany 3, Uruguay 2
2014 – Netherlands 3, Brazil 0
2018 – Belgium 2, England 0
2022 – Croatia 2, Morocco 1
