Croatia and Morocco square off in the third-place match at the 2022 World Cup on Saturday. Croatia was sent out on a forfeit score at the hands of Lionel Messi and Argentina, while Morocco gave its all and fell short against an unreal French side. This third-place contest is a rematch of Matchday 1 in Group F, a game that ended in a 0-0 stalemate. Let’s find the best World Cup bets and look at the Croatia-Morocco prediction and odds.
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World Cup Odds: Croatia-Morocco Odds
| Croatia Moneyline/To Advance | +135/-140 |
| Morocco Moneyline/To Advance | +205/+115 |
| Draw Moneyline | +245 |
| Over/Under 2.5 Total Goals | Over: -115, Under: -110 |
| Location | Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar |
| Time | 10 a.m. ET |
| TV | FOX/Telemundo |
Third-Place Match Trends
Before getting into a Croatia-Morocco prediction, it’s useful to look at the trends of recent third-place matches at the World Cup. This will be the 21st third-place match at the World Cup, a contest that has always been sort of a daft, consolation affair.
Sure, the winner gets a coveted World Cup medal, but these players are mentally and physically drained at this point. This will be exacerbated in Qatar because most players have to dive right back into its club campaigns. With more football just days away, one has to wonder if the focus will be even slightly deviated. Generally, at least moderate rotation will be common in these third-place games.
In terms of goals, only one out of the past 10 third-place games have stayed under 2.5 total goals. Actually, the lone outlier was the 2018 third-place match between Belgium and England. Usually these are settled in full time too, with only one of the past 19 needing the additional half an hour.
Injuries to Play Part Against Croatia
Croatia comes into this consolation match with a slew of major injuries. For one, Marcelo Brozovic will be missing from the midfield, which presents a huge gap for Zlatko Dalic to mend. Brozovic broke the record for most ground covered at a World Cup match against Japan and is the Croatia passing leader.
On top of that, Josip Juranovic and Josko Gvardiol will be absent from the back line. Gvardiol is within a shout for team of the tournament and has hardly put in a wrong foot. Now, it would be naïve to not mention Morocco’s injuries. It will probably be without the services of Nayef Aguerd, Noussair Mazraoui and Romain Saiss. It just seems as though Morocco’s scratches will hurt its overall unit a bit less.
While a Europe team has won the third-place medal on the past 10 occasions, Morocco has a clear chance here. Croatia has won a medal before, while Morocco is still fueled by the fire of being the first Africa team with the chance to do so.
Ultimately, Morocco held Croatia to barren levels of offense on Matchday 1. Croatia had just five shots and 0.5 expected goals in that match. Better yet, Morocco’s defense only got better as the tournament went on. Croatia simply will not be able to test Morocco quite like France did Wednesday. On the offensive side of things, Morocco has been solid, scoring five goals on 6.3 expected goals since playing Croatia. This is good timing, considering Croatia was expected to allow nine goals over its past four.
Final Croatia-Morocco Prediction & Pick
All in all, Morocco is a solid pick here. It has +115 odds to take third place, but again, these matches usually wrap up in 90 minutes. Odds on the moneyline are available at +205, which is a hard World Cup bet to pass on. Morocco has something to fight for on the final day, which is a rare sight in the World Cup’s penultimate match.
Finally, this game should also stay under 2.5 total goals. Any time under 2.5 goals has -110 odds in a match involving Morocco, it is a smart play.
Final Croatia-Morocco Picks: Morocco Moneyline (+205, DraftKings)
Under 2.5 Goals (-110, DraftKings)
