Morocco vs. Portugal: Prediction, Tips & Odds – Dec. 10, 2022, 16:00 CET
On Saturday, two more quarter-final matches of the World Cup are scheduled, after which we will find out the names of the four best national teams that will fight for the trophy at this year’s tournament in Qatar.
From 16:00 at the Al Thamuma stadium, the biggest surprise of the competition so far, the Moroccan national team welcomes Portugal.
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Morocco Team News
By placing among the eight best teams, Morocco made the biggest sensation at the World Cup in Qatar. Walid Regragui’s team became the fourth national team from Africa to reach the quarterfinals of a world championship. Before them, only Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana managed to do it.
After winning first place in the difficult group H, where they scored 7 points by playing goalless with Croatia in the first round, and then tied two victories, against Belgium 2-0 and Canada 2-1, Morocco went one step further and into the round of 16 in the final, he eliminated the big favorite Spain with a better execution of penalties.
In that match, Morocco shot six times at the opponent’s goal, had a modest 23% possession of the ball, but managed to save the net for 120 minutes with a great defense. After a better execution of penalties, they celebrated 3:0, and goalkeeper Bono became a real hero of the nation with his saves.
In this tournament, Morocco proved to be an extremely tough and unpleasant team that conceded only one goal in the previous four matches. It will not be at all easy to break through Morocco’s last line of defense.
Portugal Team News
On the other hand, Fernando Santos’ team, after first place in Group H with 6 points, outclassed the Swiss national team in the round of 16 with a score of 6-1. With this triumph, Portugal managed to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the third time in its history. Before that, they did it back in 1966 and did it again in 2006.
The fact that the first star of the team, Cristiano Ronaldo, remained on the bench for most of the match with Switzerland, brought a new dimension to the team on the field. The Portuguese seemed compact for the entire 90 minutes. They played relaxed and completely dismantled the defense of their opponent.
Portugal is offensively one of the best teams at the championship in Qatar. They scored 12 goals in 4 matches played. Gonzalo Ramos justified the coach’s trust. He scored three goals in the last match.
In this match, Morocco will also look for its opportunity from the counterattack, but we do not believe that the experienced Fernando Santos will repeat the mistakes of his colleague Luis Enrique and miss the opportunity to reach the semi-finals and fight for the trophy.
H2H
These two national teams have so far met twice at the World Championships. Morocco was more successful in the first match 1-3 back in 1986, while Portugal celebrated in 2018 in Russia with 1-0.
Expected lineups
Morocco (4-3-3): Bono – Achraf Hakimi – Jawad El Yamiq – Romain Saiss – Noussair Mazraoui – Azzedine Ounahi – Sofyan Amrabat – Selim Amallah – Hakim Ziyech – Sofiane Boufal – Youssef En-Nesyri
Portugal (4-3-3): Diogo Costa – Diogo Dalot – Pepe – Ruben Dias – Raphael Guerreiro – Otavio – William Carvalho – Bernardo Silva – Bruno Fernandes – Joao Felix – Goncalo Ramos
Morocco vs. Portugal Prediction
Portugal has exceptional players at their disposal in excellent form ahead of this game. Gonzalo Ramos got the upper hand over Cristiano Ronaldo in the last match, which turned out to be a wise move by Fernando Santos. So we expect him to lead the attack on Saturday as well.
Morocco held their own against Spain and will need to repeat a similar performance to have a chance in this game. Portugal is the better team and we believe that they will reach the semi-finals.
Kick-off time: Saturday, 10.12.2022. 16:00 CET
Prediction: 2
Odds: 1.67
Sportsbook: 22bet
