Croatia wins, finishes third in World Cup

Mislav Orsic scored the decisive goal shortly before halftime as Croatia beat Morocco 2-1 in Al Rayyan, Qatar, to claim third place in the World Cup.

Josko Gvardiol put Croatia ahead in the seventh minute, but

Achraf Dari evened the score in the ninth.

“It is as if we have won the gold,” said Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic, whose team lost in the final four years ago.

The World Cup final between defending champion France and Argentina is scheduled for Sunday at Lusail Stadium.

Baseball: All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson agreed to a seven-year, $177 million contract with the Chicago Cubs.

Swanson, 28, hit .277 with 25 homers and a career-best 96 RBIs in 162 games this year and also won his first Gold Glove. He is a .255 career hitter with 102 homers and 411 RBIs in 827 games.

College basketball: Jarace Walker scored 17 points for No. 5 Houston as the visiting Cougars (11-1) won 69-61 over No. 2 Virginia (8-1) . ... In Birmingham, Ala., Drew Timme scored 29 points to help No. 15 Gonzaga (9-3) overcame Brandon Miller’s 36-point outburst for a 100-90 win over No. 4 Alabama (9-2) in the C.M. Newton Classic . ... Gradey Dick scored 20 points and No. 8 Kansas (10-1) improved to 7-0 at home with an 84-62 win over No. 14 Indiana (8-3).

In women’s games, Jenna Johnson scored 18 points and Alissa Pili had 15 for No. 13 Utah (10-0) in a 92-45 win over visiting UC Riverside . ... Samara Spencer had 26 points to lead No. 21 Arkansas (12-0) to an 83-75 road win over No. 16 Creighton (8-2) . ... Emily Kiser scored 18 points and Leigha Brown added 16 as No. 19 Michigan (10-1) won 77-49 over visiting Appalachian State.

NHL: David Krejci, David Pastrnak and Taylor Hall each had a goal and an assist as the host Boston Bruins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 . ... Drake Batherson had two goals, Claude Giroux snapped a third-period tie and the visiting Ottawa Senators beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-3.

College football: Jawhar Jordan ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns as Louisville (8-5) won 24-7 over Cincinnati (9-4) in the inaugural Fenway Bowl in Boston . ... Quarterback Davius Richard scored on a 1-yard run in overtime as North Carolina Central (10-2) won 41-34 over Jackson State (12-1) in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta to spoil coach Deion Sanders’ final game with the Tigers. Sanders was hired as Colorado’s head coach on Dec. 3.