Croatia and Morocco are set to face off Saturday at Khalifa International Stadium in the third-place game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. After becoming the first African nation to reach the semifinals, can Morocco also become the first to earn a top-three finish?
Croatia opened as the favorite at +115 on the moneyline with Morocco getting +205 as the underdog. The total was set at 2.5 goals with the UNDER going 5-1 in Morocco’s last six matches. Croatia finished second at the 2018 World Cup and went into this tournament ranked 12th in the world, giving them the edge over their 22nd-ranked opponents in our Croatia vs Morocco prediction.
The two sides played to a 0-0 draw in their Group F opener on November 23, with Morocco outshooting Croatia 8-5 and each team getting two shots on target.
Croatia Falls To Argentina In Semifinals
Croatia was outmatched in its semifinal loss to Argentina, falling 3-0 on Tuesday to end their dreams of a second straight appearance in the final. Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the 24th minute while Julian Alvarez added a couple of goals to send Argentina to the final.
While Argentina fired seven shots on target to just two for Croatia, the Croats did control 61 percent of possession, which is a positive they can take forward into their third-place match. They should once again be able to control the flow of the game against Morocco, who will likely be happy to sit back and attack on the counter. Croatia will need to find a way to be more clinical, though, as they’ve scored just two goals in their last four matches.
Morocco Loses In Close Match Vs France
The fairytale run for Morocco came to an end on Wednesday as they lost 2-0 to France in their semifinal match. Theo Hernandez got the French on the board just five minutes in while substitute Randal Kolo Muani scored with his first touch of the ball in the 79th minute to seal the victory.
Morocco has surprised everyone throughout this tournament, claiming impressive upset wins over nations like Portugal, Spain and Belgium. They put up a good fight against the defending World Cup winners, too, holding 62 percent of possession against France while going shot for shot with them. While they’ll certainly be disappointed to not be playing in the final, Morocco will be motivated to shock the soccer world again in this third-place match.
Croatia Vs Morocco Game Prop: Total Goals UNDER 2.5 (-105)
Both nations have primarily played to low-scoring results in this tournament – outside of a 4-1 win over Canada, Croatia has scored only two regulation-time goals while Morocco has just five. We expect another low-scoring match, so take the UNDER in this one.
Croatia: Keys To Win
It was the same old story for Croatia in the semifinals as they came up short on the attacking side with no goals and just two shots on target. They’ve scored more than one goal just once in this tournament, and they’ll likely need to do it again to beat Morocco.
Morocco: Keys To Win
Morocco has been a stout defensive team in this World Cup, with France becoming the first opponent to score more than one goal against them. In fact, Morocco has allowed just three goals in the tournament with four clean sheets in six matches. If their defense plays to that standard again, they’ll have a good shot at upsetting Croatia.
Morocco is 7-3-1 in its last 11 matches.
The UNDER is 4-2 in Croatia’s last 6 matches.
Croatia is 5-5-1 in its last 11 matches.
