Croatia vs. Morocco Prediction, Betting Tips & Odds | 3rd place play-off

In the end, the big sensation didn’t happen. Croatia and Morocco lost their semifinals and will now meet in the third-place playoffs.

We provide you with a detailed preview of the match, as well as the best odds and predictions, and offer you our Croatia – Morocco betting picks.

The match will take place on Saturday, December 17 at 6 pm Qatar time at the Khalifa International Stadium in al-Rayyan.

Latest betting odds

Most international bookmakers and bettors consider Croatia to be slight favorites against Morocco.

At our ➜ test winner Bet365 you get odds of @2.35 for a win by Croatia. In case of a draw and thus extra time you can win back 3.40 times your stake, for a win by Morocco after 90 minutes odds of @3.00 await.

	➜ visit Bookmaker	➜ visit Bookmaker	➜ visit Bookmaker
Croatia to win	2.35	2.35	2.33
Draw	3.40	3.45	3.35
Morocco to win	3.00	3.10	3.00

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World Cup 2022 Betting Croatia vs. Morocco

1. Croatia Match preview
2. Morocco Match preview
3. Team comparison
4. The last duel
5. Over/under betting pick
6. Match Betting prediction
7. Correct score bet
8. FAQ

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Croatia World Cup 2022 Preview

In the semifinals, Argentina revealed the limits of the Croatian team. Croatia played well against the South Americans, but too many individual mistakes were made, allowing Lionel Messi and Co. to show their class.

Nevertheless, it was a more than successful World Cup for the solid Croatians, who now want to say goodbye to their fans in a fitting manner in the match for third place.

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Team boss Zlatko Dalic could make some changes in the last game of the World Cup and give some substitutes a chance to play. However, the Croatians have proven in the tournament so far that their bench is well-equipped and can provide a scoring threat.

Marcelo Brozovic suffered an injury in the semifinal against Argentina, and it’s unlikely they’ll take any chances on the strong Inter midfielder. So at least here there will be a change in the team, which is not ideal for Croatia, especially since the strong central midfield is perfectly rehearsed.

Croatia previous World Cup matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	XG	Possession	Accuracy	Duels won
23/11/2022	Morocco	N	0 – 0	0.74 : 0.25	63.64%	87.38%	42.16%
27/11/2022	Canada	N	4 – 1	1.50 : 0.40	45.98%	83.33%	51.50%
01/12/2022	Belgium	N	0 – 0	0.73 : 2.18	49.07%	86.68%	41.62%
05/12/2022	Japan	N	1 – 1 (P)	0.96 : 1.22	59.76%	85.32%	48.63%
09/12/2022	Brazil	N	1 – 1 (P)	0.71 : 1.34	51.57%	88.37%	49.10%
13/12/2022	Argentina	N	0 – 3	0.49 : 2.07	60.10%	88.32%	50.49%

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Morocco World Cup 2022 Preview

The dream of the World Cup final is over for the Moroccans. France was a size too large and although they had good opportunities, the French were cleverer in the end.

It was a tough semi-final for the Moroccans because France took the lead in the first few minutes of the game and then backed off. Morocco was thus forced to take charge of the game, something they have never had to do in the tournament so far. Morocco delivered a spirited fight, but then had to concede the second goal through Kolo Muani.

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For the second time Romain Saiss started with a muscle injury. Coach Walid Regragui brought in his captain even though he was not fit because he is simply too important for the team. But against France it ended and Saiss had to be substituted after only 20 minutes. He will certainly not take part in the match for third place.

Noussair Mazraoui could also be absent for the match, so there could be several changes to the Moroccans’ starting eleven. It’s quite possible that Regragui also wants to give his “second suit” a chance to present itself once again at the World Cup.

Morocco previous World Cup matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	XG	Possession	Accuracy	Duels won
23/11/2022	Croatia	N	0 – 0	0.25 : 0.74	36.36%	83.58%	55.39%
27/11/2022	Belgium	N	2 – 0	1.03 : 0.58	37.12%	88.82%	52.13%
01/12/2022	Canada	N	2 – 1	0.51 : 1.22	42.09%	86.13%	48.60%
06/12/2022	Spain	N	0 – 0 (P)	0.72 : 1.01	26.45%	75.08%	51.89%
10/12/2022	Portugal	N	1 – 0	0.94 : 1.55	27.21%	78.67%	46.30%
14/12/2022	France	N	0 – 2	1.69 : 2.43	61.01%	87.72%	49.74%

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Team comparison

In favor of Croatia:

+ Qualitative advantages in the center
+ Morocco suffering from injuries, including the absence of captain Saiss
+ Higher tournament experience

In favor of Morocco:

+ “Home advantage” due to the many Moroccan fans on site.
+ Croatia coach Dalic could possibly make a lot of changes
+ Self-confidence unbroken, also because they left Croatia behind them in Group F
+ Still the strongest defense of the tournament

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The last duel

Croatia and Morocco already met during the group stage. The match ended in a goalless 0-0 draw, with Morocco managing no more than 0.25 expected goals and allowing only 0.74 xG from the Croatians.

It was the first match for both teams at this tournament and therefore they were still very cautious. In the match for 3rd place just three weeks later, it is no longer necessary to act cautiously and so a completely different game is to be expected this time.

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Croatia – Morocco Over Under Prediction

Since 1974, there has only been one match for the 3rd place that ended with an “Under 2.5”. That was Belgium’s 2-0 win over England at the 2018 World Cup. Otherwise, every match for 3rd place has been a guarantee for many goals. This has to do with the nature of the game: Often, after a long tournament, teams are out of breath and more mistakes happen. In addition, none of the teams have anything to lose and can compete a little more relaxed.

Therefore, even in the duel of these two rather defensive teams, we bet on an “Over 2.5”, that is, at least three goals scored in the match.

Croatia – Morocco Prediction

The Moroccans have been impressive in their efforts and by now the physical damage is noticeable. Saiss and Mazraoui could be out against Croatia due to injury and coach Regragui will have to consider rotating extensively.

Croatia is more used to final phases of tournaments than the Moroccans and should be the more solid team towards the end. Morocco will be a little out of steam, and a certain feeling of saturation will set in after what they have achieved so far, so they will finish the tournament in fourth place.

Croatia – Morocco Correct Score Bet

So we expect a win for the Croats and a lot of goals in the match for 3rd place because of the “setting”. We expect Croatia to win 3-1, because Morocco will allow more than in the games up to the semifinals due to the failures in defense.

After finishing second in 2018, it will be a bit more important for the Croats to finish the 2022 World Cup in third place and so we expect a more attack-minded Croatian team that can create a lot more scoring chances than in the first encounter in the group stage.

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FAQ – Questions and answers about Croatia – Morocco at the 2022 World Cup