Morocco vs. Portugal - Betting tips, predictions, and odds
The third FIFA World Cup quarterfinals game will be played between Morocco and Portugal at Al Thumama Stadium. Don’t forget to read the best Morocco vs. Portugal betting tips and predictions.
H2H, form, and stats
Morocco and Portugal have met twice so far and both times it was at the World Cup. The Atlas Lions won the first-ever H2H in 1986 when they beat Portugal 3-1, while Os Navegadores won 1-0 four years ago in Russia. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a winner that helped his team to advance to the knockout stage.
Morocco is the most pleasant surprise of this World Cup in Qatar. Not only they topped the group ahead of Croatia, Belgium, and Canada, but they also beat Spain in the Round of 16 after penalty shootouts. Walid Regragui’s side proved to be the best defensive team in the tournament with just one goal allowed in four matches. Interestingly, it was their own goal against Canada! Still, the Moroccans kept a clean sheet against such teams as Croatia, Belgium, and Spain, which is an amazing accomplishment. Morocco is now unbeaten in the previous 11 games (W8, D3).
Portugal ended 1st in its group despite a Round 3 defeat to South Korea. However, after beating Ghana and Uruguay in the opening two matches, Fernando Santos could afford to relax a bit against the Koreans and get Switzerland in the Round of 16 instead of Brazil. Portugal destroyed Switzerland 6-1 on the wings of Goncalo Ramos, who not only scored his first World Cup goal but also bagged the first hat trick in the tournament. Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro, and Rafael Leao also scored in one of the most dominant performances we have seen in the tournament thus far. Portugal won nine of its last 13 games (D1, L3).
Injuries and squad news
Nayef Aguerd couldn't finish the game against Spain after sustaining a thigh injury and is questionable to face Portugal on Saturday. If he is unavailable to feature, Real Valladolid’s defender Jawad El Yamiq will likely take his place in the starting XI. The rest of Regragui's starting lineup should be unchanged.
Portugal displayed its best performance at the World Cup after benching Cristiano Ronaldo and that worked perfectly. Without Ronaldo to slow down the attacks and impact the fluidity, Os Navegadores impressed, and head coach Santos is probably going to make the same decision against Morocco. Ramos, Bruno Fernandes, and Joao Felix will lead the line, but we should see CR7 in the second half. Nuno Mendes (thigh) and Danilo Pereira (broken rib) will miss this game.
Betting predictions and odds
Following that fantastic performance, it’s no wonder the bookies give 1.64 odds on Portugal to win over Morocco. Still, if you think the Atlas Lions can eliminate another European giant, you can back them at 5.60, while a draw is 3.74. For the goals, Over 2.5 goals is 2.15 and Under 2.5 goals can be backed at 1.70.
Our best tip for Morocco vs. Portugal game
Even though Portugal scored six in the previous game and has a tournament-high 12 goals so far, we don’t think it’s going to be easy against resilient Morocco. The best attack is facing the best defense in this encounter, and given the significance of the tilt and the historic chance for the Atlas Lions to become the first African team to play in the semis at the World Cup, we’re backing the underdogs to put up a fight. They showed us they can defend against potent attacks and are quite organized at the back and very good on the counter. Morocco can frustrate Portugal in this one, so we don’t expect to see more than two goals.
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Morocco vs. Portugal : Where to watch? Date, hour, and TV schedule
- FIFA World Cup
- Venue: Al Thumama Stadium (Doha)
- Saturday, December 10, 2022,
- 4 PM CET
To check the full TV schedule visit https://www.protipster.com/football-live-stream.
