Croatia vs. Morocco 12/17/22 World Cup Soccer Picks, Predictions, Odds

Croatia and Morocco face off on Saturday in the third-place game of the World Cup at Khalifa International Stadium. 

These two teams faced off on November 23rd and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Croatia finished with 65 percent of the possession and two shots on target. Morocco had 35 percent of the possession and two shots on target. 

Morocco finished in first place in Group F picking up seven points. The unlikely Morocco run ended with the loss in the last game, but there is still a ton of pride in this team, and there is no doubt they are going to do everything in their power to win third place here. Morocco knocked off Spain and Portugal to get to the semi-finals. In the last game against France, though, the offense couldn’t get anything going and that led to the 2-0 defeat. Morocco had 62 percent of the possession and three shots on target. Aguerd, Mazraoui and Saiss are all dealing with injuries right now, and it’s unclear if he’s going to be able to go in this game. It’s unclear if they are going to be able to go in this game, and if they can’t, this defense could have some issues. 

On the other side of this matchup is Croatia who finished in second place in Group F picking up five points. In the knockout round, Croatia won the first two games over Japan and Brazil by a shootout. The offense scored one goal in each of those two wins. In the last game against Argentina, Croatia couldn’t get any of the offense going, and that led to the 3-0 defeat. Croatia had 61 percent of the possession, but only managed two shots on goal. Marcelo Brozovic was hurt in the last game, and it doesn’t look like that he’s going to be able to go in this game. Gvardiol is also dealing with a foot injury, and it’s unclear if he will be able to go in this game. 

There have to be some worries about how much Croatia actually has to play for in this game. This is a team that had dreams of winning the World Cup, and I don’t think they are going to find a ton of success here. Morocco will have better defense here, and their offense will find a way to score at least one goal. That one goal will be enough for Morocco to secure the victory. Back Morocco on the money line.