Morocco vs Spain World Cup 2022 Prediction
The penultimate World Cup 2022 battle of the last-16 takes place at the Education City Stadium, as Morocco pit their wits against Spain.
La Roja finished second in group E to set up a tie with their African counterparts, who fended off Croatia and Belgium to finish first in Group F.
And while they played a bit with their faith by losing to Japan, Spain probably wanted that turn of events since they avoided Croatia in this stage by finishing second in their group.
However, Morocco proved their quality by getting out of the group ahead of Belgium, so Spain will not have an easy job against probably the best African team at this World Cup.
Morocco odds: 33/5 – implied probability 13.2%
Draw odds: 16/5 – implied probability 23.8%
Spain odds: 8/15 – implied probability 38.5%
The numbers speak for themselves and confirm, what most punter agree with, Spain are the overwhelming favourite to win this afternoon; having said that, only a fool would rule out Morocco this early in a World Cup that has produced its fair share of upsets already.
Despite getting handed a tough group with Belgium, Croatia, and Canada, with two of the top three teams from the last World Cup, Morocco wasn’t exactly seen as an absolute outsider. After all, they are a good team, but still, not many people saw them making it to the knockout stages. However, Morocco topped the group with two wins and a draw against Croatia, so they proved that they have to be taken seriously by everyone.
In terms of goals, bookmakers once again seem to think that this game will be low-scoring as the odds on Under 2.5 Goals being scored currently sit at 16/19, while you can get odds of 23/20 on Over 2.5 Goals being produced. With that in mind, it seems logical that a Both Teams to Score bet is worth around 5/4 right now, while BTTS – No is priced at 14/19, favouring a low-scoring match.
Meanwhile, after demolishing Costa Rica at the start of the World Cup, Spain secured a good position ahead. They drew with Germany in the second round and they knew that they could go through even with a loss. And since they also knew the results from the group they were crossing with, Spain didn’t mind losing to Japan and finishing second in the group since that led them to Morocco instead of Croatia and also to the other side of the bracket compared to Argentina and Brazil, who they can now only meet in the final. Exactly how much of Japan’s win was due to Spain’s calculations remains a mystery, but Spain won’t have an easy job against Morocco either.
The One to watch: Gavi
Barcelona teenager, Gavi, has already made his mark on the 2022 World Cup with many comparing the youngster to the likes of Xavi and Iniesta. It’ll be interesting to see what type of play is undertaken today but most likely, the 18 year old Spanish midfielder is set to see plenty of ball action, whilst creating chances for him teammates as well as getting a few shots off himself.
Gavi is going to be the star of Spain’s new generation, that is for sure, but even his teammates are surprised at just how developed he is for such a young age. Speaking to The Guardian, Chelsea’s Azpilicueta said: “This is a new generation. There are times you help but the kids now have such confidence. Take Gavi’s debut. They were telling me: ‘Keep him calm.’ What do you mean, ‘Keep him calm’? Normally you have to get them going, push them. No, no, not him: there he was kicking people. I was like: there’s no way I could have done that at 17.”
Gavi became the youngest goalscorer at a World Cup since Pele in 1958 when he netted against Costa Rica during the group stage. That is some record to beat and we have such high hopes for the Barcelona star and believe he will have a big impact for Spain against Morocco today.”
