Croatia vs. Morocco Prediction, Tips & Odds – Dec. 17, 2022 16:00 CET
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After they met in the opening round, who would have thought we would be watching Croatia and Morocco battle for the consolation prize. This Saturday at the Khalifa International Stadium will become a historic day for one of these teams as they both massively overachieved in this tournament.
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Croatia Team News
At the moment, Croatia and Morocco are similar in terms of quality and rest all of their hopes on the shoulders of their main superstars. If one would remove Luka Modrić or Hakim Ziyech from their rosters, the quality of their starting 11 would decrease dramatically.
Compared to Russia four years ago, the Croatian team is much weaker and younger so reaching the semifinal is a tremendous achievement. Two main reasons why they failed to keep up with Argentina and got eliminated is very slow transition defense and the lack of depth on the bench.
During the tournament Croatia barely used 15 players to carry most of the load, while Argentina fully utilized their rotation. Head coach Zlatko Dalić was outwitted by Scaloni´s unexpected first-half tactics, while Croatia´s fatigue only contributed to their downfall.
Morocco Team News
When we were dissecting Morocco during the group stage, we claimed their current roster is the golden generation of their football, and it turned out to be true.
In the world sports, what goes around comes around. After a dominant group stage display, Morocco exacted revenge on both Spain and Portugal for the injustice they suffered in Russia, but they didn´t have enough left to take down France. However, who knows what would have happened in their semifinal game if they had two of their primary centre-backs, who were both dealing with injuries.
Croatia vs. Morocco Prediction
Morocco were forced to start their semifinal clash without one of their key defenders Nayef Aguerd, while their captain and his defensive partner Romain Saiss had to leave the pitch after 20 minutes of play. For a team like Morocco these players are irreplaceable, which could cause them serious issues since Croatia´s forwards are their fastest players.
Both of the aforementioned players are questionable, but even if one of them recovers in time(or both), we still think Croatian players will leave Qatar with a smile on their faces and bronze medals around their necks.
Kick-off time: Saturday, 17.12.2022 16:00 CET
Prediction: 3rd Place In The Tournament – Team Croatia To Take 3rd Place In The Tournament
Odds: 1.74
Sportsbook: 22Bet
