It was Mislav Orsic (Zagreb)’s right foot from ‘K-League’ that gave Croatia the bronze medal at the World Cup.

Orsic started on the 18th (Korean time) in the 3rd and 4th place match against Morocco at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, and opened the opponent’s goal with a fantastic right-footed kick shot in the 42nd minute when the score was tight 1-1.

When Marco Libaya (Split) passed the ball from the center, he immediately fired a right-footed kick from the left side of the penalty area.

Orsic was running along the left line of the penalty area when Libaya passed. It seemed difficult to put strength into shooting with the right foot.

However, Orsic bent his body to the right and hit the ball sharply, hitting the opposite post and heading into the goal.

Morocco goalkeeper Yasin Bunu (Sevilla), one of the top stars of the tournament, also had no choice but to make a perfect shot.

Thanks to Orsic’s goal, Croatia won 2-1 and finished the tournament with a bronze medal around their neck.

Orsic, born in 1992, is a well-known player among K-League fans who played under the registered name ‘Orsha’ in the K-League Jeonnam Dragons and Ulsan Hyundai from 2015 to 2018.

Orsic, who scored 28 goals and 15 assists in 101 games in Jeonnam and Ulsan, returned to the European stage in May 2018 wearing the uniform of 스포츠토토 Dinamo Zagreb, the strongest club in his country, based on his outstanding performance in the K-League.

Later, in 2019, he debuted in an A match as a member of the Croatian national team, and was eventually included in the final list for the World Cup in Qatar.

In this tournament, Orsic performed well as ‘Joker’. He only kept the bench in the third group match against Belgium, and stepped on the ground as a substitute from the first match to the quarterfinal match against Brazil.

Orsic’s performance was truly impressive.

He assisted on a goal in a 4–1 win over Canada in the second group stage match.

In the game against Brazil, one of the best matches of this tournament, he was substituted in the 9th minute of the second half of extra time and helped Bruno Petkovic (Zagreb) equalize 1-1 within 3 minutes, saving the team from defeat.

In the breathtaking penalty shootout, he stepped up as Croatia’s fourth kicker and kicked cleanly into the left corner of the goal.

Orsic is already a proven player on the European professional stage.

He scored 8 goals and 7 assists in the regular league this season and 5 goals and 1 assist (including qualifying) in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) this season.

In addition, it seems that the big league teams will salivate for Orsic, who performed outstandingly in his first World Cup stage.

Earlier this year, there were local reports that Arsenal and Burnley of the English Premier League (EPL) were interested in him.