Will Croatia convince right from the start?
Croatia, runners-up in the World Cup, face one-time African champions Morocco at the start of the World Cup finals. A win in the opener would be very important for the sensational team of 2018, as Belgium is a really tough opponent in Group F. In the event of a defeat, advancing to the knockout rounds could already be difficult.
The performances in the past Nations League matches were convincing, as Modric and Co. won the last four competitive matches without exception. Even against defending champions France, they won 1:0 away from home in July. Accordingly, a prediction on the away team is obvious for Morocco vs. Croatia.
On the other hand, Morocco are considered clear underdogs, as the North Africans have not made it past the group stage for almost 40 years. While head coach Walid Regragui’s side have a world-class player in PSG defender Achraf Hakimi in their ranks, overall they lack experience at the elite level, having only competed against teams outside the top-15 of the FIFA World Ranking in 2022.
In the end, betting on the reigning runners-up in Morocco vs. Croatia is an interesting choice, especially because of the good odds. With values of over 2.00, a bet on the “chequered” team is definitely worth considering in our view.
Morocco – Statistics & current form
Virtually no one expects the North Africans to make it past the preliminary round. With Belgium and Croatia as their group opponents, the draw was not good anyway, and they have never really been able to make it big on the international stage.
At the last Africa Cup, which took place almost a year ago, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals, as well as at the Arab Cup in December 2021. The fact that the Europeans have the advantage in Morocco vs. Croatia according to the betting odds should come as no surprise to anyone.
WM as too big a stage
The “Lions of Atlas” have already qualified for the finals six times, but only made it past the preliminary round in 1986.
Likewise, with only one win from the past ten World Cup matches, the points tally at the world’s biggest football tournament is usually more than modest. Their last World Cup victory dates back to the last millennium, when they defeated Scotland 3-0.
What’s ahead?
Generally, the offensive performances this season have not been necessarily exhilarating. At least Sevilla striker En-Nesyri could become the first Moroccan to score in two different finals. Next to him, Chelsea’s joker Ziyech is the most likely to score a goal.
Nevertheless, we think it is not unlikely that a bet against a goal scored by the home team will be successful in Morocco vs. Croatia, because the Croatian defence has been quite tight lately. Especially in the opening match, both sides will probably not risk their heads and necks.
Predicted line-up of Morocco:
Bono- Hakimi, Saiss, Aguerd, Attiat-Allah – Ounahi, Jabrane, Amallah – Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal
Last matches played by Morocco:
Friendly matches
17/11/2022 – Morocco 3 – 0 Georgia
28/09/2022 – Paraguay 0 – 0 Morocco
24/09/2022 – Morocco 2 – 0 Chile
Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier Gr. K
14/06/2022 – Liberia 0 – 2 Morocco
10/06/2022 – Morocco 2 – 1 South Africa
Croatia – Statistics & current form
With four victories in a row, they have recently finished with a big exclamation mark in the Nations League and that despite always facing strong teams in France, Denmark and Austria.
In the final test match against World Cup starter Saudi Arabia, a victory was also recorded. It seems as if Dalic’s team is in excellent shape just in time for the big event. Nevertheless, the odds on Morocco vs. Croatia amount to 2.00 and more – a betting invitation, in our opinion!
Good memory on African opponents
When you’ve met teams from Africa at World Cups, you’ve always won so far. And not only that, they have not even conceded goals against teams from CAF.
If they manage to win on Wednesday, the statistics promise a lot: Whenever Croatia has won its opening match at a World Cup finals, it has always reached the semi-finals.
One of the mainstays of the “fiery” team is Luka Modric, who has played for his country more times than any other player at both the European Championship and the World Cup. He could become the first professional ever to play in the European Championship and the World Cup in three different decades.
Dalic expects success
But enough of potential records, in the end only a win counts in the opening match. From our point of view, you can confidently make a prediction on the away team in Morocco vs. Croatia, who, incidentally, have conceded just two goals in their past five matches.
Striker Ivan Perisic is another guarantee of success, having scored nine times at European Championship and World Cup level. Will he also help his nation to great success in 2022? We say, with the given odds, you can’t go wrong with a bet on the “chequered” team!
Predicted line-up of Croatia:
Livakovic – Stanisic, Lovren, Vida, Barisic – Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic – Vlasic, Kramaric, Perisic
Last matches played by Croatia:
Friendly matches
16/11/2022 – Saudi Arabia 0 – 1 Croatia
UEFA Nations League A Grp. 1
26/09/2022 – Austria 1 – 3 Croatia
23/09/2022 – Croatia 2 – 1 Denmark
14/06/2022 – France 0 – 1 Croatia
11/06/2022 – Denmark 0 – 1 Croatia
Morocco – Croatia Direct comparison / H2H balance
The first time these two nations faced each other on the pitch was more than 25 years ago. Back then, the result was a 2:2 draw. Who will gain the advantage in the first encounter at World Cup level?
Morocco – Croatia Tip
Although the bookmakers are still fairly evenly spreading the odds on Morocco against Croatia, we think the outgoing runners-up have clear advantages. After all, the Croats have won their last five international matches and Dalic’s team is also clearly better placed in terms of experience. In addition, Modric and Co. have been very secure defensively of late and have hardly conceded any goals. The North Africans will therefore face a difficult hurdle on Wednesday.
All in all, betting on Morocco vs. Croatia is certainly the best choice, especially as the bookmakers are offering surprisingly good odds.
Even bets on a handicap win for the Croats have good chances of success in our opinion. We reckon that it will be difficult for Morocco to create any dangerous scoring chances at all. Overall, we see the reigning runners-up as having the advantage in all respects!
