A place in the quarter-finals is the prize as Morocco face Spain at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup round of 16.
It has been an impressive World Cup campaign for Morocco so far as they finished top of a group that had Croatia and Belgium. Not only did they win the group, the North Africans were also unbeaten, claiming two wins and a draw from their three matches.
One of the impressive things about Morocco’s campaign is that they have constantly improved as the tournament progresses. After beginning with a 0-0 draw with Croatia, they overcame Belgium 2-0 before claiming a 2-1 victory over Canada in their final group fixture.
Another high point of Morocco’s campaign so far is their defensive solidity as they have only conceded an own goal against Canada in the competition. However, with Belgium and Croatia failing to convince in attack during the group stage, Walid Regragui’s men are expected to face a sterner test from the Spaniards, who have scored nine goals in Qatar.
While Morocco have steadily improved in Qatar, Spain appear to be going in the other direction. They began with a 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica but failed to win their last two matches to finish second in the group.
Spain head into Tuesday’ clash off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Japan in their final group fixture. They took an early lead through Alvaro Morata but were pegged back by the Japanese before conceding a controversial winner.
While the Spaniards are among the leading scorers in Qatar with nine goals, they have struggled to maintain their discipline at the back. With the exception of the opening game with Costa Rica, Luis Enrique’s men have failed to hold on to their leads in their last two matches.
How the bookies view it
Spain have been installed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 8/13 by Betfred to win. A victory for Morocco is valued at 6/1 by bet365 while a draw is offered at odds of 6/1 on Betfred.
Head to head
Morocco and Spain met during the group stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Spaniards needed an injury time equaliser from Iago Aspas to salvage a 2-2 draw.
Players to watch
Hakim Ziyech has been one of the standout players for Morocco and finally got off the mark last time out against Canada. The attacker could be backed to score anytime on Tuesday at 7/1 with Unibet.
Alvaro Morata continues to prove his importance to Spain and has found the net in all three matches in Qatar. Unibet has the striker at odds of 17/10 to maintain his scoring run on Tuesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been goals for both sides in Spain’s last two matches and Tuesday’s clash could be set for a similar outcome at 27/20 with Unibet. Both teams saw over 2.5 goals in their final group fixtures and a repeat could be considered at 13/10 with SBK.
The Spaniards have seen more goals after the break in their three matches so far and Tuesday’s fixture could be set to follow a similar pattern at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This World Cup match between Morocco and Spain will be played on Dec 6, 2022 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Morocco vs Spain prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
