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Morocco - Portugal
World Cup 2022 - Al-Thumama Stadium
3rd Round
Prediction 1
Draw
5/2 (3.50)
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Odds from
Prediction 2
Under 2.5 Goals
4/7 (1.57)
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Odds from
*All odds are correct at the time of writing but are also subject to change, so double-check them.
The second day of quarter final matches in Qatar is Saturday, December 10th, and the program will start with the Morocco vs Portugal duel. With that in mind, we have prepared a detailed preview of this game for you, followed by some free betting tips.
Morocco vs Portugal World Cup 2022 Prediction
Morocco caused a big upset in the last 16 when they defeated Spain on penalties, while Portugal cruised to a 6-1 win over a hapless Switzerland side to setup a really exciting and unexpected Quarter-Final matchup at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Draw
We're expecting a very tight and tense 90-minutes between these two nations and have backed the game to end in a draw. Portugal and Morocco have played one another twice before and each have a win and a defeat to their name, most recently in 2018 when Portugal pinched a 1-0 win over the Africas at the World Cup.
However, three of Morocco's last six international matches have ended in goalless draws, two of which have come at the World Cup against Croatia and Spain, so you can see why we're backing the opening 90-minutes of this game to end all square.
Under 2.5 Goals
Portugal might have scored 6-goals in their last game against Switzerland but we are expecting chances to be much harder to come by against a well-organised team like Morocco. The Africans' have seen four of their last six matches produced under 2.5 goals, which includes five clean sheets.
Portugal have relied on goals to get them through games as they have only managed to keep one clean sheet so far but this Morocco side have only conceded one goal at the World Cup and kept a free-flowing Spanish side at bay in the last 16.
Everything you need to know ahead of Morocco vs Portugal
If you want to check out the best odds and stats for Morocco vs Portugal, you can find them right here, on our site:
Head to Head
20/06/18
World Cup 2018 World
Portugal
Morocco
1
0
Last Five - Morocco
19/01/23
African Nations Championship ACN
Madagascar
Morocco
3
0
L
17/12/22
World Cup 2022 WC2022
Croatia
Morocco
2
1
L
14/12/22
World Cup 2022 WC2022
France
Morocco
2
0
L
10/12/22
World Cup 2022 WC2022
Portugal
Morocco
0
1
W
06/12/22
World Cup 2022 WC2022
Spain
Morocco
0 (0)
0 (3)
W
Last Five - Portugal
10/12/22
World Cup 2022 WC2022
Morocco
Portugal
1
0
L
06/12/22
World Cup 2022 WC2022
Switzerland
Portugal
1
6
W
02/12/22
World Cup 2022 WC2022
South Korea
Portugal
2
1
L
28/11/22
World Cup 2022 WC2022
Uruguay
Portugal
0
2
W
24/11/22
World Cup 2022 WC2022
Ghana
Portugal
2
3
W
It's time to take a closer look at the latest odds ahead of Morocco's clash with Portugal in the 2022 World Cup Quarter-Finals,
- Morocco odds: 5/1 (6.00)
- Draw odds: 45/16 (3.81)
- Portugal odds: 5/7 (1.71)
As you can see, Portugal are the big favourite to win but that's no surprise as they do have the better team on paper. However, as we suggested ahead of the Morocco vs Spain tie in the last round, you can't write off the North Africans as they have proved they have the ability to defend well and counter-attack with pace and power.
In any case, Portugal has a 58.3% win probability in this game, while Morocco's win probability is 16.7%. Meanwhile, the probability of this match ending in a draw is 26.2%.
The bookmakers have Cristiano Ronaldo as the most likely First Goalscorer at 24/5 (17.2%) but we're not convinced he will even start the game and a better bet might just be Goncalo Ramos at 11/2 (15.4%).
Morocco don't score a lot of goals but they don't concede many either and that might a major factor in why the Under 2.5 Goals market for this game is priced at around 13/18 (58.1%). If you are confident that there will be more goals this weekend then you can back Over 2.5 Goals at 6/5 (45.5%) as things stand.
Previous Meetings
This will be the third duel between Morocco and Portugal in World Cup history. The two teams met in 1986 for the first time and Morocco emerged victorious from that duel, beating Portugal 3-1. Thanks to that win, Morocco managed to get out of the group, which was the first and only time until now that Morocco reached Round of 16.
The second time Morocco faced Portugal in a World Cup was just four years ago, in Russia. The two teams were once again pitted against each other in group stages, but this time Portugal beat Morocco 1-0 after an early goal by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Morocco looking to put Portugal to the sword after defeating Spain
Morocco
Morocco might have ridden their luck at times against Spain in the last 16 but they also created plenty of chances of their own to win the game in the opening 90-minutes and extra time. However, both teams failed to score during each of those periods and the game had to be settled via a penalty shoot-out. Morocco scored three of their opening four penalties while Bounou proved the hero between the sticks for the African side, saving two of Spain's three opening spot-kicks with the other hitting the post. With a win over Spain under their belts, Morocco will feel as if they can defeat Portugal in the Quarter-Finals and become the first African side to reach the Semi-Finals.
Team News:
Morocco didn't make many changes to their starting lineup in their previous matches in Qatar, so we expect to see pretty much the same team here. That being said, Nayef Aguerd is questionable for this game, while Romain Saiss and Sofyan Amrabat both played with pain in the last game, which will likely be the case again.
Predicted Lineup: Bounou (GK), Saïss, Mazraoui, Aguerd, Hakimi, Ziyech, Amrabat, Amallah, Ounahi, Boufal & En-Nesyri
Portugal
Many were expecting the Portugal vs Switzerland last 16 tie to be a closely fought battle with few goals being produced. However, Portugal dominated the game from start to finish, embarrassing the Swiss who simply didn't seem to turn up on the night. Ramos was brought into the starting lineup ahead of Ronaldo and the young Benfica forward proved to be the catalyst for Portugal scoring a hat trick on his team's journey to a 6-1 victory. Captain and veteran centre-back, Pepe, scored the game's second goal and full-back Guerreiro added a fourth in the 55th-minute. Man City's Akanji pulled a goal back for the Swiss from a corner but Portugal scored twice more after that including a stoppage-time effort from substitute Leao.
Team News:
In addition to the tinkering by Portugal's head coach, who springed a few surprises ahead of the Switzerland game in last round, Portugal will once again be without Nuno Mendes, who will miss the rest of the World Cup. Also, Danilo remains doubtful ahead of this game with an injury.
Predicted Lineup: Costa (GK), Pepe, Guerreiro, Dias, Dalot, Carvalho, Otávio, Fernandes, Silva, Félix & Ramos
Player to Watch: Goncalo Ramos
Goncalo Ramos was a surprise choice to start Portugal's last 16 tie against Switzerland ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as the 21-year-old striker only had 3-caps and 1-goal to his name. However, it proved to be an inspired move by the Portugal manager as Ramos scored a hat trick to help his side ease through to the Quarter-Finals with a 6-1 win over the Swiss.
Surely, a striker that scored a hat trick in his first World Cup start can't then get dropped for an aging footballer that simply hasn't had the same effect on the national team that he usually does but this is Cristiano Ronaldo were talking about. We fully expect Ramos to start against Morocco and would bet against the Benfica striker scoring once again, although, we do believe that this game will be much tighter than the one against Switzerland.
So who is Ramos and why isn't he playing in one of Europe's top leagues? Well, no disrespect to Benfica but, he soon will be. Ramos has scored 20-goals in 45 league games for the Portuguese giants since breaking into the first team in 2020. Ramos was linked heavily with a move to Newcastle in the summer and it was reported that the Magpies even agreed on a fee for the striker. However, his hat trick against the Swiss will only have added to his value and if he continues in this vein of form then we fully expect one of Europe's big boys to make their move for the 6'1″ front-man.
Starting Lineups
Morocco
Portugal
Morocco vs Portugal prediction: Q&A
- Where can I watch the match live? – ITV1, STV, ITVX & STV Player.
- Where is the game going to be played? – Al Thumama Stadium, Doha.
- What is the starting time of the fixture? – 15:00 UK, 16:00 CET.
