Croatia’s Run of Form
Croatia was drawn into a group with Morocco, Belgium, and Canada. Belgium was the favourite to win the group, and Croatia was the second favourite. Their first game, against Morocco, ended 0-0. In their next game Croatia played against Canada, and won 4-1. In their last group game, Croatia played against the group favourites, Belgium, and held them to a 0-0 draw. The Croatian team finished second in Group F.
In the round of 16, Croatia had to play against Japan, who had won Group E. The game was very evenly matched, with Japan creating more chances but Croatia defending very well. Both teams scored but neither team won the game, as it ended 1-1. The game was still level after the two periods of extra time, and then the two teams had to play a penalty shootout. Croatia won the shootout and progressed to the next round. In the quarterfinals, Croatia played against Brazil, who were in fine form. Croatia defended very well again, and kept the game 0-0 during regular time. Brazil finally scored in the first period of extra time, but Croatia equalised in the second period. In the following penalty shootout, Croatia beat Brazil, and secured their place among the final four.
Croatia played against Argentina in the semi-finals, but their defence was finally beaten. Argentina put 3 goals past Croatia, and the match ended 3-0.
Morocco’s Run of Form
Morocco has been highly impressive in this World Cup. They began their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Croatia in the group stage, but then went on to win their next game against Belgium 2-0. In their final group game, Morocco beat Canada, to clinch 7 group points and finish at the top of the group.
In the round of 16, Morocco had to play against Spain, who were the runners up of Group E. This was their toughest fixture up to that point. Spain and Morocco both had chances, but neither team could score during regular time. After the two halves of extra time finished 0-0, Spain and Morocco had to play a penalty shootout. Morocco went first and scored, whilst Spain missed its first penalty. In the next round, Morocco scored and Spain missed again. After Morocco missed its third penalty, Spain was given a chance to catch up. However, Spain missed its third penalty, and when Morocco scored its fourth penalty, they won the shootout. After the drama of facing Spain, Morocco had to play against Portugal in the quarterfinals. As expected, Portugal pressed high and tried to crush Morocco. Morocco repelled the Portuguese attack before scoring a goal at the end of the first half. In the second half, Portugal pressed again, but Morocco kept a clean sheet, and the game ended 1-0.
In the semi-finals, Morocco played against France. After facing and winning against Belgium, Spain, and Portugal, Morocco fancied their chances in causing a fourth upset in the World Cup. However, it was not to be, as France scored an early goal and then scored a second in the 79th minute. Morocco lost the game 2-0, but the team played bravely.
Players to Look Out For
Croatia
Croatia has scored only 5 goals in regular time in their 6 World Cup games, and 4 of those goals came in one group stage game. The team is not renowned for goal scoring, but Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric, and Mario Pasalic are all highly rated forwards. They can be devastating especially when launching counter attacks. Luka Modric was the best player in the previous World Cup, and he has also been fantastic in this World Cup, but most of the praise is has been directed at the Croatian defence. Josip Juranovic, Dejan Lovren, Josko Gvardiol and Borna Sosa have all kept a very tight defence and close down any attacking players with their physicality and strength. In goal, Dominik Livakovic has been outstanding and has kept 3 clean sheets during the competition.
Morocco
Morocco's defence has been quite solid too, with Achraf Dari, Romain Saiss, and Jawad El Yamiq playing as three centre backs. Their goalkeeper is Yassine Bounou, who you will recognise by his nickname, Bono - the name on the back of his shirt. He has been exceptional for Morocco. Achraf Hakimi is a right wingback, but he has also travelled further up field and contributed to the attack. The key player in Morocco’s team sis Hakim Ziyech, a winger who has scored and assisted during this World Cup. Youssef En-Nesyri is their striker, and he is both strong and deadly in front of goal. With Sofiane Boufal, Sofyan Amrabat, and Azzedine Ounahi, the Moroccan midfield and attack is quite devastating.
Croatia vs Morocco Betting Opportunities
Croatia and Morocco play contrasting styles of football, which can make it difficult to predict whether this match will be a goalfest or whether it will run out to a 0-0 draw that will finish with a penalty shootout. Though this will divide most punters, it will offer some excellent betting opportunities as the odds for many bets will be quite long.
You can bet on the winner of the match, double chance, tie no bet, but if you want to hit the long odds then you should explore bets such as correct score, handicaps, total goals, and so on.
There are also bets on certain aspects of the game that you may find easier to predict than a score or outcome. Bets such as will both teams score, will there be goals in both halves, total corners, total cards, which team will win the most corners, which team will open the scoring, will a team keep a clean sheet, are all a few examples of bets that do not directly relate to the final score.
In the player market, you can check out the odds on certain players to score during the game. En-Nesyri, Ziyech, Kramaric, Perisic, and Pasalic will be among the favourites to score, but neither team has a sole goal provider and so the odds on any of the attacking players will still be relatively long.