Thursday’s football tips: Try an 11/10 Mbappe bet as France battle Morocco in World Cup last eight

The World Cup quarter-finals get underway tonight and tournament favourites France face their stiffest test yet against Morocco.

Les Bleus have played the best football in North America this summer but the Moroccans should offer stiff resistance in what could be a classic encounter.

The Morocco team that blazed a trail to the last four at Qatar 2022 made a habit of grinding out wins but the class of 2026 play with a bit more freedom and should ask a few questions of the French.

France vs Morocco top betting tips

France's march to the quarter-finals has been a team effort and all of their superstar forwards have pitched in with important contributions.

But there's no denying that Kylian Mbappe has been the inspiration and the penalty he scored to see off Paraguay in the last 16 took his tally for the tournament to seven goals.

The Real Madrid star is in the groove and he's odds-on for another strike tonight on the World Cup betting apps. But if you add on over 1.5 shots on target in a bet builder it boosts that price to a decent 11/10 with Bet365.

Morocco's main man has been Ismael Saibari but he's a doubt for tonight's game after going off in the first half with an injury against Canada.

Azzedine Ounahi stepped up in that game by netting a double so he looks worth a punt at 13/8 just to have an effort on target tonight.

CSKA Sofia vs Derry City

There's a few Europa League qualifiers tonight and Derry City have a tough game in Bulgaria against CSKA Sofia.

This CSKA side is nowhere near as strong as the one that often reached quarter-finals and semis in Europe during the Communist era.

But they reached the group stage in their last crack at the Europa League six years ago and have only lost once in six games against teams from the League of Ireland.

That's why Bet365 make the Bulgarians 1/4 hot favourites tonight but they could be a bit rusty as this is their first competitive game of the season.

Derry City, in contrast, have played 25 matches already in their domestic league so that could be a factor tonight.

I'm going to back most goals to come after the break in this one at 21/20 with Bet365 as the Bulgarians get themselves up the speed.

Vojvodina vs Ferencvaros

Ferencvaros blazed a trail to the last 16 of the Europa League last term and start their latest campaign with a trip to Serbia to take on Vojvodina.

The Hungarians beat the likes of Rangers, Genk and Red Bull Salzburg in last season's memorable European adventure so it's no surprise to see them as favourites tonight.

But Bet365 still price Ferencvaros at a decent 5/4 because taking on a Serbian side away from home is no walk in the park.

Vojvodina's recent record in Europe hasn't been great though, losing their last four qualifiers to LASK, APOEL Nicosia, Ajax and Maribor.

That makes me think Ferencvaros could be worth a punt for a win at that price, even though it's their first competitive game this season.

This should be a tight 90 minutes and that makes the half-time draw another good option at 5/4 with Bet365.

Super singles

• Most goals second half in CSKA Sofia vs Derry City 21/20 Bet365
• Ferencvaros to win 5/4 Bet365

Bet builder

• Kylian Mbappe to score and have over 1.5 shots on target 11/10 Bet365

Upcoming match previews and betting tips

• Thu 21:00 France vs Morocco
• Fri 20:00 Spain vs Belgium
• France vs Morocco World Cup bet builder

Racing tips

Rizzel has picks for Newbury and Newmarket today as he bids to unearth some winners.

• Thursday’s Racing Tips – Morris Dancer has all the right moves for Newmarket

As always, leave your own tips and comments below.

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